Apple Muffins With Marzipan Hearts - cooking recipe

Ingredients

11 tbsp butter or margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 None eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup full fat yogurt
1 None large apple, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
4 oz marzipan
1/4 cup powdered sugar + more for dusting
1/2 cup red food coloring
1/3 cup whipping cream
None None red-colored sugar for decoration

Preparation

Grease and flour a 12 cup muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 400\u00b0F.
Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla extract with a pinch of salt until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix them in thoroughly to create a creamy texture. Next, in a separate bowl, sift the flour and baking powder and add the almonds. Add this to the cake mixture little by little, alternating with the yogurt, stirring. Finally, add the apple chunks to the mixture and stir briefly.
Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin cups and bake for about 25 mins. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
To make the marzipan hearts, knead the marzipan with the powdered sugar. Next, add the red food coloring little by little, kneading, until the marzipan is the desired color. You may wish to use protective gloves to do this as the color will stain your fingers. Next roll the marzipan out to a thickness of about 2mm, then, using one large and one small heart-shaped pastry cutter, press out 12 hearts of each size.
Lift the muffins out of the pan, and dust with powdered sugar. Meanwhile, whip the cream in a bowl, and spoon it into a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle. Pipe a dollop of cream on each muffin, then sprinkle with red colored sugar. Arrange one large and one small heart on each muffin and serve.