Go Back
–+ servings
Scottish Fern Cakes with a fern

Scottish Fern Cakes, a Bakery Classic

Course Bread, Cookies & Pastries
Cuisine British, Scottish
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 24
Calories 213
Author adapted by Christina Conte
A Scottish bakery classic pastry.

Ingredients

Tart Shells

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 stick butter good quality
  • 1 ½ tsp sugar
  • 3 Tbsp ice-cold water or 4 tablespoonfuls, as needed

Filling

  • 4 Tbsp raspberry or blackberry jam or more, as needed
  • 6 oz butter 1 ½ sticks
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 1 ½ cups almond meal almond flour or ground almonds all work
  • 2 eggs preferably organic, beaten
  • ½ tsp almond extract I used vanilla instead, as it’s not my favorite flavor

Icing

  • ⅔ cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 2 Tbsp milk or water, more or less as needed for a runny icing

For the Fern Design

  • ¼ cup chocolate melted, in a little plastic sandwich bag with a tiny bit of the tip cut off (or green icing for Christmas trees)
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 200C/400F
  • Making the pastry
  • Place the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingers until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar, then add the water and mix gently to make a soft dough. (Or you can make it in a food processor, like this.) Let rest in fridge for 20 minutes or so.
  • Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut into circles to fit your mini tins. Using a fork, press the tines into the bottom and sides of the pastry in the tin, then bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, until partially cooked. Remove and set aside.
  • Spread the jam on the bottom of the crust then make the frangipane filling.
  • Making the filling and baking
  • Melt the butter in a pot, remove from heat and stir in the sugar, ground almonds, egg and almond extract (if using.) Pour the mixture over the jam, but don't fill too full.
  • Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F(180°C) and bake for about 20 minutes, until golden-brown and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely in the pan.

Making the icing and decorating.

  • Make the icing so that it's rather thick, but still runny, and cover each tartlet with the icing.
  • Immediately draw a design of zig zag lines on the center of the tart, then drag a toothpick or knife thought the design. Allow to set completely before serving or storing.

Notes

  • Regarding the cup measurements. Please read this to understand what I mean about the cups not being reliable.
  • The cup measurement is NOT accurate because of the difference in ground almonds vs. almond flour and the fact that most measuring cups are not reliable. Please use a scale for best results.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 | Calories: 213kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 84mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 316IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Please leave a review by clicking on the RATE button above in the purple header or share a photo and tag @ChristinasCucina on Instagram!