Marzipan Lovers, Unite: Make This Easy Marzipan Recipe at Home (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between almond paste and marzipan? ›

Almond paste has twice the amount of almonds in it compared to marzipan, making it coarser in texture and less sweet than its counterpart. Their consistency also differs as marzipan is smooth and pliable, almost clay-like, while almond paste is somewhat gritty and spreadable, almost like a cookie dough.

Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.

As it contains raw eggs it shouldn't be given to anyone in an at-risk group, including pregnant women, the elderly, the unwell and the very young. You can make a cooked marzipan, which carries no risks. It is a little softer, and harder to work with, but a good substitute if you are at all worried.

Mix together 1 ½ cups of icing sugar and 1 cup of dry coconut. Add 1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and stir until you get a solid mass. Knead the mixture and roll it out. You can then use it as a substitute for marzipan.

Marzipan comes from nuts—it's traditionally made with ground almonds. In order to maintain quality standards, many countries regulate the percentage of almonds a recipe must have for it to be legally called "marzipan." This discourages the use of apricot kernels as a cheap substitute for almonds.

The World's Finest Marzipan

Lubeca has been producing marzipan since 1904. The company continues to use traditional methods of production and is recognized by bakers, pastry chefs and chocolatiers as one of the leading producers of high quality almond paste marzipan.

Also called almond candy dough, marzipan is an agreeable, multi-purpose combo of the first two, with a subtle almond flavor and unmatched malleability. Be sure to try these marzipan cake recipes.

The German variety is a mixture of almonds and sugar ground coarse and heated until dry, and, after cooling, glucose and icing sugar are added. French marzipan is not cooked, but sugar is boiled with water and added to the almonds to render a finer, more delicate texture and whiter colour.

Certain cities and regions throughout Europe claim marzipan as a specialty: Spain's Toledo (where it has protected designation of origin status), Portugal's Algarve, Italy's Palermo and Germany's Lübeck.

As it contains raw eggs it shouldn't be given to anyone in an at-risk group, including pregnant women, the elderly, the unwell and the very young. You can make a cooked marzipan, which carries no risks.

Do you leave a marzipan cake uncovered? ›

It is now best to leave the marzipan to 'dry out' for a couple of days. I place mine in a cardboard box so that the air can circulate, but the cake is still protected from dust etc. Do not put it in an airtight container.

This includes "health food" milk shakes made with raw eggs, Caesar salad, Hollandaise sauce and any other foods like homemade mayonnaise, ice cream or eggnog made from recipes in which the egg ingredients are not cooked. Salmonella can cause intestinal infections that can be serious (or even fatal).

For some, it's too sweet. “The smell is benzaldehyde," says Kirkwood, describing the classic Bakewell tart] aroma, "which is very sweet. And one of the ingredients in marzipan is sugar, so when you combine the sweet aroma of benzaldehyde and taste of sugar, it's probably giving a very sweet flavour in general!”

The German name 'marzipan' has supplanted the original English name 'marchpane. ' Some theorise that it originally comes from the Latin 'martius panis', or 'March bread'. Others cite Arabic, Burmese, or Persian as the language of origin.

Dr. Oetker Professional Ready to Roll Marzipan is made with fine Californian almonds and Moroccan almond butter to create a superb flavour and texture which can be rolled out easily to achieve a smooth surface on your cakes.

You can use store-bought almond paste to make marzipan but you cannot make almond paste from marzipan. In a pinch, you can substitute marzipan for almond paste, but be sure to reduce the amount of sugar called for in the recipe because marzipan is sweeter than almond paste.

Compared to almond paste, marzipan has a higher proportion of sugar, which makes it sweeter, smoother, and more pliable—think Play-Doh. It's typically rolled, molded, dyed, and/or shaped (like into these adorable fruits!) and served as its own or used as a decorative element in larger desserts.

Marzipan and almond paste are similar and rely on the same key ingredients of almond meal and sugar (in North America, almond paste is often used to refer to Marzipan). However, the amount of sugar and texture differentiates the two.

Marzipan and almond paste are made from ground almonds and sugar but differ mainly in texture, sweetness, and use. Almond paste is coarser, less sweet, and used as a filling in baked goods. Marzipan is smoother, sweeter, and often used for decorative purposes in confectionery, such as cake covering and sculpting.