Covering a Round Cake in Marzipan | Dr. Oetker (2024)

FAQs

Covering a Round Cake in Marzipan | Dr. Oetker? ›

The videos below give great tips on how to trim it neatly and create the perfect base for icing your Christmas cake. Leave the Christmas cake covered in marzipan in a cool, dry place. Allow it to dry for at least 24 hours before covering with fondant icing, and at least two days before covering with royal icing.

The videos below give great tips on how to trim it neatly and create the perfect base for icing your Christmas cake. Leave the Christmas cake covered in marzipan in a cool, dry place. Allow it to dry for at least 24 hours before covering with fondant icing, and at least two days before covering with royal icing.

The traditional layer of marzipan on a cake helps to keep the cake moist by trapping in moisture which in turn stops it from going stale. It also provides a smooth surface for your final icing covering.

If you want to keep the cake longer then you could freeze it, wrapped tightly in a double layer of food wrap and a layer of foil (don't wrap directly in foil). Unwrap and thaw for 3-4 hours at room temperature. The cake is at its best if thawed and eaten within 3 months of freezing.

-Brush the top of the cake with the sieved jam and then leave a few minutes for it to set. (This helps the marzipan stick to the cake.)

Dust your work surface with a little icing sugar and knead the marzipan until pliable. Roll it out to a thickness of no less than 5mm (1/4 in) then lift and place over the cake. Starting with the top and ideally using a cake smoother, smooth the marzipan over the top of the cake and down the sides.

Marzipan should ideally dry out before you apply icing. This can take anything from one to five days, with homemade marzipan usually taking longer than ready-made. It's ready when it feels dry (it will feel quite oily at first).

The traditional coat of almond icing (marzipan) should be put on the cake a week before you want to ice it, to allow its oiliness to dry out. Cover the marzipan surface with a clean tea cloth and store out of the tin or container. Icing is best left to the last few days – in my case often until Christmas Eve.

Why won't my marzipan dry out? ›

The thinner you can make it, the faster it will dry later. Marzipan is a tasty topping on cookies and cakes, but it's hard to dry out quickly when it's used this way. If you're able to roll it out to a consistent thickness, you can get it to dry much faster than usual.

Marzipan should to be brushed with a clear alcohol or lemon juice to make it tacky so icing can adhere to it, perhaps your friend doesn't wet it enough and the marzipan dries out before the fondant has had a chance to settle.

We've allowed 15g each of sugarpaste and marzipan per square inch of cake. Using the quantities suggested should cover the cake to a depth of approx 5mm - the exact weight you use will depend on how thinly you roll the paste!

We recommend that you choose a cake box that is at least one size larger than your cake.

8 inch cakes can be sensibly served to 14 people cutting each slice at about 2 1⁄4 inches across the back. 2 1⁄4 inches is about the length of the spoon part of a tablespoon.