Dulce de leche Easter egg mazurek

Last year I started a series of Easter egg-shaped mazurkas (eggnog and blackcurrant, chocolate “day and night” and coconut and raspberry). This year I’d like to continue the series of modern mazurkas in the same format. I’ll start with a classic – a dulce de leche mazurek – this time made with homemade dulce de leche, cooked with cream and sugar. We use light brown sugar, which also gives the dulce de leche a lovely toffee flavour. For decoration, you can use your favourite dried fruit and nuts; I used amaretti biscuits, flaked almonds and chocolate-coated hazelnuts.

Ingredients for the shortcrust pastry:

• 175 g plain flour
• 50 g icing sugar
• 100 g butter, cold and cut into cubes
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 1 egg yolk
• a pinch of salt

Prepare an oval tin measuring 27 x 19.3 cm or a 24 cm springform tin. If you don’t have either of these, draw around a 21 cm springform tin onto a sheet of baking paper. Elongate/enlarge the circle on one side to create an Easter egg shape, then cut out the template.

Sift the flour, add the butter and chop together with a sharp knife. Add the egg yolk, sugar, sour cream and salt. Quickly knead together (you can also make the pastry in a food processor, mixing until you have a compact ball of dough), shape into a ball, flatten slightly and wrap in cling film. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

After this time, roll out the pastry to a thickness of approximately 3–4 mm and use it to line the oval tin or springform tin, including a 1 cm border. If you have prepared a template, cut the Easter egg shape from the pastry – place the paper template on the rolled-out pastry and cut around it. Transfer the cut-out egg onto a baking tray lined with baking paper. Shape the pastry trimmings into a rope and attach it (using egg white – dip a pastry brush into the egg white and brush it onto the pastry rope before attaching it) around the outer edge of the pastry. This will also form a raised edge to prevent the filling from spilling over. Chill the pastry in the fridge again for 30–60 minutes.

Just before baking, prick the pastry in several places with a fork. Bake at 180°C for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Ingredients for the homemade dulce de leche:

• 160 ml double cream
• 140 g light brown sugar
• seeds from 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Place all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir together and cook over the lowest heat for approximately 30 minutes, stirring from time to time. Leave to stand for 3 minutes, then pour the hot dulce de leche over the baked shortcrust Easter egg and spread it evenly. The dulce de leche sets fastest in the fridge.

Additionally:

• amaretti biscuits
• flaked almonds
• chocolate-coated nuts with golden sprinkles

Decorate the dulce de leche mazurek before the filling has completely set (you can of course use other dried fruit and nuts for decoration).

Enjoy!