Marzipan (2024)

FAQs

What is marzipan called in America? ›

What is Marzipan? Marzipan, also known as almond candy dough, is a smooth and pliable confectionary paste made from almonds that can be used as a cake icing or molded into candies. It features a clay-like consistency that makes it easy to handle.

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.

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 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.

The best quality marzipan contains less sugar in the raw mix. Good marzipan contains minerals such calcium, potassium and magnesium and is also rich in vitamin B and polyunsaturated fatty acids. On the downside, marzipan is high in fat and in sugar.

The German name 'marzipan' has supplanted the original English name 'marchpane. ' Some theorise that it originally comes from the Latin 'martius panis', or 'March bread'. Others cite Arabic, Burmese, or Persian as the language of origin.

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.

You can eat it as-is like candy, or press it into molds to make fun shapes like fruits, stars or animals. It can also be used like fondant as a cake topper or placed between two cake layers to create a flavorful divider.

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 World's Finest Marzipan

Lubeca has been producing marzipan since 1904. The company continues to use traditional methods of production and is recognized by bakers, pastry chefs and chocolatiers as one of the leading producers of high quality almond paste marzipan.

What is the lifespan of marzipan? ›

The shelf life of marzipan is from 3 to 12 months, depending on the product. Marzipan with a high content of almonds, like sweets with filling, should be consumed within six months. Figures that do not have such a high content of almonds can be kept suitable for up to a year.

Niederegger has been making marzipan for over 200 years. Founded in 1806 in Lubeck, Germany by Johann Georg Niederegger it belongs to this day a family owned company. Niederegger marzipan is world renowned and classed as 100% marzipan, containing less sugar and a high percentage of almond than other marzipan makes.

If this is the case a good substitute for marzipan is a thin layer of sugarpaste and then cover as normal. Let the first covering dry before applying the second cover. You could also use half chocolate modelling paste and half sugarpaste kneaded together.

Marzipan is a confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract. It is often made into sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and small marzipan imitations of fruits and vegetables.

noun, adjective. marzipan [noun, adjective] (of) a sweet paste made of crushed almonds and sugar, used in decorating cakes, making sweets etc. (Translation of mazapán from the PASSWORD Spanish–English Dictionary © 2014 K Dictionaries Ltd)