How To Make Marzipan from Almond Paste
Marzipan is very expensive to buy in the grocery store, and is often dry and flavorless. This marzipan recipe is super easy. I’ll show you how to make marzipan that is much cheaper than pre-made, and tastes much better.
If you live in the US and you’ve bought marzipan in the grocery store, chances are you were sorely disappointed. Pre-made marzipan is expensive and is usually dry and tasteless.
I always make my own marzipan recipe from almond paste. Marzipan is a fairly luxurious ingredient but is very easy to make. You’ll need just 3 ingredients and it comes together in mere minutes.
Ingredients
- Almond Paste – Almond paste is made from “bitter” almonds, which have the distinctive marzipan flavor.
- Corn Syrup – Gives the marzipan a supple texture.
- Confectioner’s Sugar – Add less sugar for a softer marzipan like you’d use to cover a cake. Use more sugar for molding marzipan into fruits or flowers.
How to make Marzipan from almond paste:
- Combine almond paste with corn syrup to start making your own marzipan.
- Almond paste is darker in color and has a rough texture. Homemade marzipan is lighter in color, is sweeter and has a smooth texture
- Add enough sugar to make the marzipan as soft or firm as you need.
How to use Marzipan
Homemade Marzipan has a million and one uses.
- Cover Christmas fruitcakes with marzipan before finishing them with fondant. The marzipan creates an extra layer to keep the cake moist, plus it tastes much better than fondant. When making marzipan to cover cakes use the lower amount of sugar in the recipe. With less sugar the homemade marzipan is very soft and has a strong almond paste flavor, perfect for a cake covering.
- Marzipan can be used as a candy filling. Add orange zest to the marzipan and a little extra sugar to make it a little firmer. Cut the flavored marzipan it into small squares, cover the squares in tempered chocolate and you’ve got a fantastic little bon bon.
- Use homemade marzipan to make tasty and pretty decorative pieces. Add enough sugar and the marzipan becomes firm enough to make rose petals or holly leaves and berries.
- You can mold life-like pieces of fruit from marzipan, hand color them with powdered food coloring and create a show-stopping centerpiece that is delicious.
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Marzipan Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 oz Almond Paste (see note)
- 2 oz light corn syrup (1/4 cup)
- 8 oz confectioner’s sugar (approximately)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix 7 oz Almond Paste and 2 oz light corn syrup on low speed until it forms a smooth paste. If working by hand use a wooden spoon to mix until combined.
- Scrape the bowl. With the mixer running on low speed add 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar. If mixing by hand stir half the sugar. Turn the dough out onto a surface generously sprinkled with confectioner's sugar. Knead the remaining sugar into the marzipan. Continue adding additional powdered sugar to achieve the desired consistency (see note).
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How much would you reduce the sugar by to make marzipan for icing my Xmas cake? So happy to have found a recipe that uses almond paste which I found with the jello in America.
I give a range of the amount of sugar to add. For covering fruitcakes I use the lower amount so the marzipan is soft.
Hi there. I was hoping to make this recipe a few days in advance before I assemble my cake. Could I leave this in the fridge for a day or two and then use the marzipan or should I make it and assemble the cake immediately?
Thanks.
This can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for several days.
Thank you for the marizpan recipe and your advice,
You’re welcome!
This turned out great!!! I’m not exactly sure on the consistency (how much sugar it really needed) but it is pliable and can be rolled out to cover these German cookies I’m making so it will work out perfectly.
Hi Joanna, the consistency can be adapted to the use of the marzipan. When I cover fruitcakes I like to use the lesser amount of sugar, but if I’m making marzipan fruit I use more sugar for a firmer consistency. I’d love to see a photo of the cookies when you’re done! Happy holidays!
It is not at all impossible to make your own Almond paste. All you need is 200 gram almonds, scolded and peeled, 4 drops of bitter almond extract, one egg white and 1 cup powdered sugar. I use a special hand cranked almond grinder, but food processor works too, just keep going until it’s really fine, Add eggwite essence and sugar, mix well, Keep in air tight container until used. You can also add a few drops Rose water for a sofisticated taste.
Well, I find it impossible to get the paste as smooth as the commercial paste. But if it works for you, great!