CakeChristmas
CakeChristmas
Part of the portions: thick cinnamon stars covered with a thin, slightly irregular white icing; an entire star split in half shows a small brown cocoa heart inside the light marzipan.
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Cakes with surprises / Cookies & cupcakes

Cinnamon Stars with Cocoa-Almond Centres

A recipe by CakeChristmas / Updated on 30 October 2026.

A small brown ball is enclosed in the center of each thick star under its white icing.

12 large stars filled with 7 cm, smaller offcuts / Meringue and ground almonds, gentle drying in the oven

12Indicative portions
35 minPreparation
30 minBaking
1 hour 30 minutesRest & Cooling
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Dessert in this mood

Twelve large stars are shaped with two thin layers of cinnamon paste sealed around a cocoa almond heart.

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Original quantity: 12 servings.

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Preparation

  1. Whisk the whites into foam and gradually add the 160 g of icing sugar; get a firm meringue. Reserve 3 tablespoons for the tops.
  2. Add almonds, cinnamon and lemon to the rest. Refrigerate this sticky paste for 45 minutes.
  3. Malax the marzipan with cocoa and, only if it crumbles, a few drops of water. Divide into 12 balls of 5 to 6 g.
  4. Heat to 150 °C. Divide the cinnamon paste into 24 equal portions. Flatten twelve portions into 7 cm discs on lightly powdered paper. Place a heart in the center, cover with the remaining twelve flattened portions and weld carefully around them.
  5. Cut 12 stars of 7 cm around the hearts, with at least 1 cm of dough around each. Gather the offcuts to make small stars without centre cut-outs, and bake these separately. Spread the reserved meringue in a thin layer on the big stars.
  6. Bake 16 to 18 minutes at the bottom of the oven. The icing should remain pale. Cool on the plate at least 45 minutes before handling; open a star in the center to show the small brown core.

Preserve and Serve

5 days in hermetic box in the cool and dry.

Baking tips for this recipe

  • Use a clean bowl and whisks, without a trace of fat, to whisk the whites.
  • Follow the order of sugar addition and step-by-step temperatures: they depend on the preparation.
  • Stop whipping to the texture described in the recipe; do not add any cooking or drying that is not provided for in the steps.

Substitutions and variations

To replace a main ingredient, choose another sheet designed with the one you want to use. Changing the proportions of fat, sugar or liquid can change the hold of the dessert.

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