All you need to make this Marzipan recipe is almond flour, powdered sugar, extract, and corn syrup (or honey). You can grind your own almond flour with a food processor or buy it from the grocery store. This easy recipe makes delicious marzipan perfect for Christmas cake or decorative shapes.
Marzipan is a sweet almond paste made of ground almonds similar to fondant or modeling chocolate. It can be colored and shaped into marzipan fruit, used for marzipan cookies, or even rolled out to cover a cake. It's commonly used in the UK, Italy, and Germany and is like a really good-tasting smooth dough. Store-bought marzipan is super fine and smooth, so people often buy it because they want an extra smooth texture.
Table of contents
Marzipan Ingredients
Blanched (peeled) almonds or finely ground almond flour are the main ingredient in homemade marzipan and will result in a smoother texture than raw (unpeeled) almonds. It's more cost-effective to grind your own whole almonds but to save time you can buy finely ground almond flour.
Powdered sugar adds sweetness without adding grit.
Almond extract or vanilla extract is used to bring out that yummy almond flavor. Rose water is also commonly used to add flavor but it is totally optional.
Corn syrup or honey is used as a binder to hold the almond mixture together. Any liquid sweetener like simple syrup, agave, or maple syrup will work.
How to Make Homemade Marzipan
Making Almond Flour
- Use blanched almonds without the skin so that your flour is nice and pale.
- Grind your almonds in a food processor by pulsing in bursts.
- Sift your almonds through a strainer to remove any large bits of almond.
- Return the larger pieces to the food processor to grind up again.
- Repeat the process until you have enough finely ground almond flour.
Making Marzipan
- Place the almond flour and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until combined. You can also mix this by hand with a spatula.
- Add the corn syrup and extract and mix on low for about 1 minute until the dough starts sticking together. If it comes together when you squeeze it with your hand, it's done mixing. If your marzipan seems dry, add another teaspoon of corn syrup and keep blending.
- Place the butter on top of the marzipan and knead it together on the counter. The butter is optional but it will help make your marzipan smooth.
- Wrap the marzipan in plastic wrap and seal it in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for at least an hour before forming it into shapes. Fresh marzipan keeps in the fridge for 6 weeks or freezer for 6 months or more.
How to Use Marzipan
- Tear the marzipan dough into pieces and use a modeling tool to form it into fun shapes like pears, apples, or pumpkins.
- Coloring marzipan is pretty easy as long as you use gel food coloring instead of liquid. I like to wear gloves when I'm coloring marzipan so that it doesn't stain my hands.
- You can also dust the marzipan with edible food powder to add some realism.
- To color the marzipan dark brown, I add a bit of cocoa powder to the marzipan and then my brown food gel.
- To keep the marzipan from sticking to my hands, I put some butter on my fingertips and kneaded it through the marzipan until it wasn't sticky anymore.
- You can cover your cakes with marzipan as an excellent alternative to fondant. Keep in mind that marzipan is not as stretchy as fondant but it tastes really good. You'll need about two batches of this recipe to cover a three-tiered wedding cake.
FAQ
Marzipan is most commonly used for marzipan candy, for coloring and shaping into fun designs, and for covering cakes like fruit cakes. It is similar to almond paste but contains more sugar so it is sweeter. Marzipan is a sweet paste similar to fondant in that it can be shaped, colored, and used for covering cakes but fondant is more elastic and doesn't contain any almonds.
This marzipan recipe does not have egg whites. Traditional marzipan recipes use egg whites but I prefer corn syrup or honey as the binder. The shelf life of the marzipan is longer and there is no risk of eating raw egg white. If you prefer to use egg white, replace half the corn syrup with pasteurized egg white. If you use honey keep in mind that the marzipan will have a slight honey flavor. The great thing is that this recipe can be vegan, paleo, and keto-friendly.
Although very similar (both are made with almonds and sugar) marzipan and almond paste are different. Almond paste is not very sweet and is typically not flavored. Marzipan is very fine in texture, sweeter and firmer than almond paste so it can hold its shape. The term almond paste is more commonly used as filling in pastries like frangipane tarts and bear claws.
Many marzipan recipes use raw egg whites as a binder, but this recipe uses corn syrup instead. Either recipe is safe to eat raw as long as you are not allergic to raw eggs or nuts.
Marzipan can last for 6 months in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer if you wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in a Ziploc bag or an airtight container. It will start to harden and develop bacteria if you leave it out at room temperature for too long.
Almond flour is made from blanched (peeled) almonds and has a finer texture, while almond meal is made from raw (unpeeled) almonds. You can grind your own raw almonds to make almond meal for this recipe, but your marzipan will have a slightly coarser texture.
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Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Food processor
Ingredients
- 5 ounces fine almond flour
- 6 ounces powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla or rose water
- 3 ounces corn syrup
- 1 Tablespoon butter (optional for kneading)
Instructions
Making Almond Flour
- Use blanched almonds without the skin so that your flour is nice and pale.
- Grind your almonds in a food processor by pulsing in bursts.
- Sift your almonds through a strainer to remove any large bits of almond.
- Return the larger pieces to the food processor to grind up again.
- Repeat the process until you have enough finely ground almond flour.
Making Marzipan
- Place the almond flour and powdered sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix until combined. You can also mix this by hand with a spatula.
- Add the corn syrup and extract and mix on low for about 1 minute until the dough starts sticking together. If it comes together when you squeeze it with your hand, it's done mixing. If your marzipan seems dry, add another teaspoon of corn syrup and keep blending.
- Place the butter on top of the marzipan and knead it together on the counter. The butter is optional but it will help make your marzipan smooth.
- Wrap the marzipan in plastic wrap and seal it in a Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for at least an hour before forming it into shapes. Fresh marzipan keeps in the fridge for 6 weeks or freeze for 6 months or more.
DeAnna says
Delicious!! I've made marzipan with three different recipes that I found online. I'm allergic to eggs, so that narrowed my choices. Your recipe is the best!! Thank you!
Dina says
Hi. I found my answer on your video. Thanks 😊
Dina says
Not sure how the butter is to be used in this recipe. Do I melt it and incorporate it into the dough or cut it in cubes? I’m a first timer with making this.
Elizabeth Marek says
Just knead it into the finished marzipan, it helps with the stickiness.
Jill Garrard says
Hi! Is it possible to replace the corn syrup with liquid glucose?
Thanks!
Elizabeth Marek says
I think that would be ok