Jacqui Kelly's Top Tips for Working with Marzipan - Renshaw Baking (2024)

FAQs

What is the most important when working with marzipan? ›

Keep a bowl of icing sugar handy. Not only will you use it to knead and roll out your marzipan on but it will stop your fingers from getting sticky when making models. Do not use cornflour. The two can react together to create mould and cracking in the marzipan.

If your hands are getting sticky when working with marzipan, you can either use a little white vegetable fat (Trex) on them or an icing sugar duster. Do not use cornflour as it can react with the marzipan and create mould and cracking. Icing sugar is also very useful when you are rolling out marzipan to cover a cake.

Exercise caution to avoid excessive kneading, as overworked marzipan may develop an oily texture and lose its smooth, clay-like consistency. If this occurs, knead a small amount of simple syrup to rebind the oils and solids. Additionally, more confectioners' sugar can be added to restore the original consistency.

Begin by dusting your work surface with icing sugar to prevent your marzipan/fondant from sticking. Step 2: Knead your marzipan/fondant into a ball.

I would try cutting it into chunks and putting it into either a stand mixer with the paddle or a food processor and making it small then adding a bit of warm water to soften.

Add to cake.

You can make chocolate marzipan cake or take a simple spiced Christmas cake to the next level with the addition of the almond-y confection. You can also make a classic Swedish princess cake, a popular celebration cake draped with a top layer of pale-green marzipan.

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.

Our easy video demonstrates how to apply a layer of marzipan over a round sponge after brushing with apricot jam. This sweet almond paste provides a delicious middle layer in fruit cakes, and locks in moisture as well as creating a flat, smooth surface to decorate with icing.

Don't roll it out on too much icing sugar, as it gets drier and cracks more. If not using immediately, store it in the fridge tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or clingfilm.

However, marzipan isn't especially popular in North America. It's not that we don't like it—because unless you have a nut allergy, who wouldn't like marzipan? —it's just that we don't eat it much. Often, we just sell it as an ingredient called “almond paste,” which strikes me as functional and lacking in romance.

What if marzipan is too wet? ›

Add a bit more icing sugar if it seems too wet. Shape into a ball, then wrap and keep in a cool place until ready to cover the cake.

Turn the mixture out onto a work surface and knead until it makes a smooth dough. If the dough seems too sticky, knead in a little more confectioners' sugar. If it seems too dry, add more corn syrup.

Roll the marzipan into a disc about 1cm/½in thick and 1-2cm/½-1in wider than the diameter of your cake (check the marzipan isn't sticking to the worktop by dusting underneath it again with icing sugar). -Brush the top of the cake with the sieved jam and then leave a few minutes for it to set.

The surface of the cake is usually brushed with apricot jam before the marzipan is added, to give a slighty tacky surface that the marzipan can stick to.

Select a flat surface, such as a clean part of your countertop, and sprinkle some powdered sugar over it. Roll the marzipan up into a ball, then set it on top of the powdered sugar. Use a rolling pin to spread it out into a thin layer. The thinner you can make it, the faster it will dry later.

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.

when you are working with marzipan, keep unused portions in a bowl covered with a damp cloth. To store marzipan, keep it wrapped or covered in an airtight container. It keeps in- definitely when protected from air. If left uncovered, it eventually becomes hard as a rock.

This delicacy is made from natural selected almonds, which ensures that all the beneficial substances inherent in almonds are preserved. The word “marzipan” is derived from the German word “Marzipan” or the Italian word “marzapane.” It is believed that the name was given in honor of St. Marcus.

Marzipan is a ready-to-eat sweet treat traditionally found in confectionary shops across Europe. Made from ground almonds, sugar and egg whites, it is often shaped and dyed or painted as realistic fruits and vegetables. Different countries have different marzipan traditions.