How to Prepare Marzipan
Marzipan is a delicious confection made from ground almonds and sugar. It's used as cake frosting and filling. Its malleability makes it perfect for creating cute little characters and edible sculptures, and its pale yellow hue makes it a great blank canvas for food coloring. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 8 ounces almond paste or ground almonds
- 1 3/4 to 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- Food processor
- Plastic wrap
- Fridge
- Cutting board
Instructions
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Making Marzipan
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1
Mix together the confectioner's sugar and the almond paste. You can do this by pulsing it in the food processor, as Martha Stewart's recipe suggests, or by crumbling the almond paste into a bowl and mixing in the sugar with your hands, as AllRecipes.com advises. It'll look like large bread crumbs when it's well mixed.
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2
Add the corn syrup. If you're using a food processor, pulse the mixture till it's combined; if you're using a bowl, mix the syrup in with your hands. The mixture will still be crumbly, but you should be able to press it into a spherical shape and have it hold together for a few moments.
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3
Take the dough out of the bowl and put it on the table or a cutting board. Knead the dough until it's smooth. In his Food Network marzipan recipe, Emeril Lagasse suggests kneading in more confectioner's sugar if the dough is too sticky.
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4
Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for an hour.
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5
Once you're ready to use the marzipan, take it out of the fridge. It should feel like Play-Doh when you touch it.
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6
If you're going to dye the marzipan, pinch off a piece and put a drop of food coloring onto it. Knead it in with your hands.
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Tips & Warnings
Indian cooking features an alternative marzipan recipe that is made with ground cashew nuts, egg whites and almond essence. Also, you can make cooked marzipan by boiling water and sugar, then adding ground blanched almonds and cooking until it turns into a smooth paste. Information on both can be found in the Resources section.
