Marzipan is a candy or a confection made of almonds and sugar or honey as a sweetener, plus flavorings such as almond oil or almond extract, rose water, or orange blossom water. Commercially produced marzipan often contains additives and preservatives such as glucose syrup, invertase, or sorbic acid.
For commercially produced marzipan, raw almonds are blanched to remove their skins, then they are ground into almond flour and roasted. Because of its light color, marzipan lends itself to dying.
What Is Marzipan Used For?
Marzipan is used in a variety of dessert and candy recipes, including everything from cookies and cakes to truffles and pralines. Marzipan is also often dyed and shaped into miniature fruits to be enjoyed on their own or used to decorate cakes. Chocolate-covered marzipan is one of the simplest ways to prepare and enjoy marzipan, whether you make your own marzipan from scratch or use store-bought.
What Ingredients Are in Marzipan?
Almonds and sugar are the two basic ingredients in marzipan, and all you need to make marzipan at home. Optionally, you can also add flavorings and/or food coloring.
Beyond the basic ingredients of almonds and sugar, the ingredients and types of marzipan vary, often from country to country. Most commercially produced, European-style marzipan does not contain egg whites so it's vegan.
Strictly speaking, marzipan is always made with almonds. However, marzipan-like confections made of nuts instead of almonds, such as pistachio marzipan, are also often referred to as marzipan.
In the United States, marzipan is a fine-textured, ready-to-eat confection, unlike almond paste. You can find marzipan in the baking aisle of well-stocked grocery stores or it can be purchased online. In some countries, marzipan contains bitter almonds, though this is not so in the U.S., as their sale is prohibited.
In Germany, which is renowned for its marzipan, especially the Lübecker Marzipan from the north German city of Lübeck, food laws regulate the different marzipan classifications. The quality of the marzipan is determined by the ratio of sugar and the raw marzipan material called Marzipanrohmasse which may not be more than 1:1. In other words, the higher the amount of almonds, the better the marzipan quality. German marzipan is often shaped like a loaf of bread, or into marzipan potatoes. For New Year's, marzipan is shaped into piglets with a clover leaf for good luck. There are numerous regional marzipan specialties, of which the filigree Königsberger marzipan with a caramelized top might be the most sought after.
British Marzipan
In Britain, supermarkets sell both white and golden marzipan. White marzipan is the preferred marzipan for dying with food coloring. It is also used to make three-dimensional cake decorations such as fruits or vegetables. Golden marzipan on the other hand is mostly used to cover cakes, such as Battenburg cake and the traditional British Christmas fruitcake.
Almost every European country has its own marzipan creations. Sicily in Italy is home to two famous specialties with marzipan, the dessert Cassata and Frutta martorana, miniature fruit-shaped marzipan. A Spanish marzipan specialty is mazapán de Toledo from the Spanish province of Toledo. Swedish Princess cake is a layered cake covered with green marzipan.
How to Store Marzipan
Marzipan needs to be stored air-tight to prevent it from drying out. Due to the oil contained in the almonds, it should be kept in a cool, dark place like the refrigerator so it won't turn rancid.
Once opened, commercially produced marzipan is a bit less prone to drying out than homemade marzipan, but try to use an opened package within seven to 10 days.
If marzipan dries out, it cannot be turned smooth again but no need to throw it out -- only the texture is affected and it is still perfectly edible. Add it to a crumble topping for muffins or coffee cake or sprinkle it over ice cream.
Can You Freeze Marzipan?
Yes, marzipan can be frozen! Freezing marzipan leftovers, whether store-bought or homemade, is the best way to prevent it from drying out. Wrap it tightly in freezer bags and freeze for up to six months. There is no need to freeze unopened commercially produced marzipan, as it is well sealed and will stay fresh until the expiration date.
More About Marzipan...
Whether you're already a marzipan fan or just wondering what to do with marzipan, we have loads of recipes and resources to meet all of your marzipan needs!
Browse our most festive marzipan recipes for the holidays
Learn How to Make Marzipan, step-by-step
Watch how to make marzipan potatoes, a classic German treat
Marzipan is used to make sweet treats like candies, icing sugar, fruit cakes, cupcakes, and fruit breads. You can make your own marzipan by blending almonds, egg whites, and sugar, or you can purchase it at the grocery store, where it is sometimes sold under the name “almond candy dough.”
What Is Marzipan Used For? Marzipan is used in a variety of dessert and candy recipes, including everything from cookies and cakes to truffles and pralines. Marzipan is also often dyed and shaped into miniature fruits to be enjoyed on their own or used to decorate cakes.
The glory of marzipan is because it holds a shape easily, you can cut out or mold your own figures to decorate holiday pastries. It's also used as a kind of heavy-duty frosting for Christmas cakes because it helps long-keeping cakes (like fruitcakes) retain their moisture instead of going stale.
Marzipan may also be used as a baking ingredient, as in stollen or banket. In some countries, it is shaped into small figures of animals as a traditional treat for New Year's Day or Christmas. Marzipan is also used in Tortell, and in some versions of king cake eaten during the Carnival season.
What Does Marzipan Taste Like? Marzipan has a very sweet, nutty almond flavor. Its texture is soft, chewy and slightly rough due to the ground up almonds.
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.
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.
Commercially produced marzipan contains around 28% almonds and 21 grams sugar per 2 tablespoons so it's sweeter than almond paste. Because marzipan is stiff, it lends itself to be cut out or shaped three-dimensionally for candies shaped like fruits, or for cake and pastry decorations.
It's full of lots of other goodies too. Good quality marzipan also contains calcium, potassium, magnesium and Vitamin B. How many other sweet treats can you say are that good for you!?
If the liquid wasn't completely absorbed during baking, the surface of the cake would remain over moist.This moisture will begin to dissolve any covering ie marzipan and sugarpaste.
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.
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!”
Marzipan is used to make sweet treats like candies, icing sugar, fruit cakes, cupcakes, and fruit breads. You can make your own marzipan by blending almonds, egg whites, and sugar, or you can purchase it at the grocery store, where it is sometimes sold under the name “almond candy dough.”
How long does homemade marzipan keep? It will keep in the fridge for up to 6 weeks. If using it to cover a cake, the marzipan must be allowed to fully dry on the cake for 2-3 days before applying the sugarpaste. Dry marzipan kept it in a cool dry place should be fine for 2-3 months.
Marzipan is smooth, sweet, and often dyed and molded into shapes. It's also used to cover sweets much like fondant and is sometimes eaten as is. Almond paste, however, is coarser, less sweet, and used as an ingredient or filling for baked goods.
The marzipan layer on a wedding or Christmas cake helps to trap moisture in the cake and stop it staling – plus it provides a smooth surface so that the final icing is neater.
The tip notes that the marzipan should be left to dry out, so it doesn't seep into the icing. How should the cake be stored during this "drying out period"? I make the cake 6 weeks before Christmas and store wrapped in parchment and tin foil inside a sealed tin.
Introduction: My name is Greg O'Connell, I am a delightful, colorful, talented, kind, lively, modern, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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