You can, of course, simply mix together ground almonds and icing sugar and bind it with egg white. This will produce a very crude and gritty product, really not worthy of the name marzipan. If you take just a little more time in the preparation and make a syrup or cook the mixture as required, you will be rewarded with something absolutely delicious. In addition to a basic recipe for almond marzipan that should serve you well, I’m giving you a few others, to demonstrate how marzipan and marzipan-like concoctions are made in different places. Each has its own specific flavour and texture characteristics, so one cannot really say which is better than the other. As with so many things in life, it is a question of taste and I suspect that ethnicity will also play a leading role.
Follow the method as described in each recipe and use the freshest possible nuts. Note that the basic recipes for marzipan require a sugar thermometer. If you make the chocolate-dipped versions, keep them at a constant, cool temperature to discourage discolouration. The refrigerator is usually too cold. Apart from that, it’s all quite clear sailing to achieve delicious results.
The almond tree (Prunus amygdalus) is known to have been cultivated by the ancient Greeks and its botanical name derives from the Greek word for almond. So strong was the connection that the Romans referred to the nut as Nux Graeca (Greek nut). It spread through trade and travel to occupy a vast region from the western Mediterranean to Western Asia, journeying even further afield in modern times, to America. Although it was used in savoury preparations, it has always been most highly prized as a key ingredient in cakes, biscuits and confectionery. Marzipan, for instance, is almond in one of its purest and most delightful forms.
Marzipan has a long and illustrious history, but its origins and name are cloaked in mystery and its development shows a tangle of intercultural influences and exchanges. The most popularly held belief is that it originated with the Arabs. The geographical location certainly fits and the Arabs were great traders, who introduced sugar from Asia to the Mediterranean and Western world. Sugar-based nut confections were already a tradition and fine art for Arab cultures when Medieval Europe began to catch on. But when they did, they did so in a grand way: with subtleties, a name which is intriguing to say the least, as they brimmed over with magnificence. ‘Subtlety’ was the name given to the splendid marzipan centrepieces used as table decoration for banquets and other feasts, which were dismantled and eaten at the end of the meal. The beautifully moulded and sculpted figures were used individually or grouped to portray historical or religious scenes, or one that suited the occasion for which it was made. Gilding and colouring were used to great effect. The colouring was extracted from available natural sources, some of them questionable. They included edible leaves for green, saffron or other flower stamens for yellow, saffron and egg yolk for gilding as well as blood cooked with breadcrumbs to produce black. Indigo gave blue, and holly berries or powdered sandalwood yielded red. If the thought currently crossing your mind is that people certainly ate strange things in the past, allow yourself to dwell for a moment on the lists of E-numbers that adorn the tubes and pots of modern food colourings.
By the reign of Elizabeth I, the subtlety was going out of fashion and was being replaced by marchpane. This was also a presentation item, moulded as cakes in wooden hoops and artistically decorated. Sugar and rose water were mixed to provide a glaze and gilding or gold leaf could be used to add even more beauty. With the passing of the centuries, marzipan has lost none of its allure and not much has changed in its preparation, nor at times in its presentation. Those who have visited Italy may have seen the gorgeously moulded, sculpted and coloured Martorana fruit, originally a speciality of the Sicilian convent of the same name, but now copied all over the country. They are often quite garish but some are produced with such skill that it is hard to tell them from the real thing. In Western and Eastern Europe, marzipan figures are still a Christmas speciality and though the mass-produced kind generally lack both flavour and finesse, they are seasonal items that are always in great demand. In Holland, bakers and supermarkets stock marzipan fruit, vegetables and animals in their miniature forms, with one exception. In December almost every counter houses several kilos of moulded pink pig or piglet, whose size diminishes as people buy a piece from snout to tail.
European recipes from the 1660s show that marzipan has not changed vastly in the course of time. The marzipans of old were often flavoured with rose and orange flower waters, a custom that still enjoys enormous popularity in the Middle East. They ranged from simple raw mixtures of nuts, sugar and flower waters to boiled versions and mixtures baked on wafers. In the modern Western world, two main schools of marzipan exist: the German and the French, with some regional variants. For the German method whole almonds and sugar are repeatedly ground together before being cooked and shaped. It produces a fairly coarse product that is delicious for eating but less versatile for uses such as moulding. French marzipan is made by mixing finely ground almonds with a sugar syrup, yielding a smooth and malleable mixture.
But there is more to the world of marzipan and the following section will take you through some of the regional variants as well as a few oddities that, to my mind, admirably fit the category.
This is a good all-purpose marzipan. It can be eaten as it is, used to decorate cakes or to stuff dried dates and apricots, or cut into cubes and dipped in chocolate to make a special confection – Regular or whatever else you can think of. The texture depends largely on how the almonds are ground and the finer the nuts, the smoother it will be. You can buy them ready-ground or grind them yourself, adding a tbsp of icing sugar to absorb some of the oil and enable you to grind more finely. Once you’ve made a block of marzipan, wrap it well and store it in the refrigerator, where it will keep for several weeks.
Makes just over 550 g/1 lb 4 oz
250 g/9 oz/2¾ cups blanched almonds, finely ground
1 tbsp icing sugar if grinding your own almonds
300 g/10½ oz/1½ cups granulated sugar
100 ml/3½ fl oz/scant ½ cup water
Put the ground almonds in a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Put the granulated sugar and water in a small heavy-based saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Attach a sugar thermometer to the pan, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Leave to boil without stirring until it reaches 114°C/237°F (soft ball stage).
Remove the thermometer and pour the syrup over the ground almonds. Mix at medium speed for about 5–7 minutes. Stop when it is smooth and well bound. You want to get the oil from the nuts well combined with the syrup, but if you overmix it, it will become too oily.
Scrape the mixture out of the bowl onto a silicone mat, flatten it into a rough disc and leave to cool completely.
When completely cool, knead well by hand to get rid of the crusted bits. Don’t add extra icing sugar; it will only coarsen the marzipan.
Shape the marzipan into a neat block and wrap well in a few layers of clingfilm. Put the marzipan into a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Unless otherwise stated, bring the portion you need to room temperature before using.
To make pistachio marzipan, use the amounts and method described for Almond Marzipan (see previous), substituting the same amount of skinless pistachios for almonds. Grind the pistachios finely with 1 tbsp icing sugar and proceed as for Almond Marzipan. This recipe makes about 575 g/1lb 4 oz.
Situated south of Madrid, Toledo is as famous for its marzipan as its steelwork, and its medieval look is picturesque if rather inconvenient by modern standards. It is definitely a place to be explored on foot. Among the many sights, one finds several ‘confiterías’ around the main square and in the streets leading off it. Some are simply the foyers of convents, holding a nun and a workaday wooden table stacked with their wares. Chief among these are the absolutely delicious ‘mazapán de Toledo’. The rich marzipan is shaped into tiny figures of all kinds and some are filled with ‘yemas’, making them even more succulent. This recipe is for Toledo-style marzipan, cut into a simple elegant shape.
Makes about 30 rounds, about 1.5 cm/⅝ in thick and 3 cm/1¼ in in diameter
200 g/7 oz/1 cup granulated sugar
5 tbsp water
200 g/7 oz/scant 2¼ cups blanched almonds, finely ground
4 egg yolks, mixed with a good pinch of finely grated lemon zest icing sugar, for dusting (optional)
Put the sugar and water in a medium non-stick pan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Attach a sugar thermometer to the pan, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Leave to boil without stirring until it reaches 90°C/194°F (about 5 minutes after it comes to a rolling boil).
Remove the thermometer and stir in the ground almonds. Cook over low–medium heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in the yolk mixture (it helps to have someone pour the yolks in for you) and cook for a further 3–4 minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture should come together and look like a soft dough.
Transfer the mixture to a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat at medium speed for about 3–4 minutes until smooth but not too dry. Scrape the mixture out of the bowl and flatten it into a rough disc, then lay it on a silicone mat to cool completely.
When completely cool, knead the mixture by hand to get rid of the crusted bits. Don’t add extra icing sugar at this stage; it is not necessary with a silicone mat and will coarsen the marzipan. If you don’t have a silicone mat, lay the mixture on a sheet of clingfilm instead. Flatten it and cover with another sheet of clingfilm.
Roll the marzipan out to an even thickness of 1.5 cm/⅝ in and cut out neat rounds with a 3-cm/1¼-in fluted cutter. You may need to wipe the cutter clean from time to time and/or dust it with icing sugar. Re-knead the trimmings lightly and re-roll until you have used up all the marzipan. Try to roll and cut as economically as possible; the marzipan gets oily as you continue to handle it.
Leave the marzipan to air-dry at room temperature for an hour or two, then pack it into an airtight container, with sheets of greaseproof paper between the layers. Keep in a cool place and eat within a week.
Dipped Walnut Marzipan
These can be flavoured to suit your taste. Add a little orange zest or finely chopped candied orange peel if you like, or stem or crystallised ginger.
MAKES 16 ROUNDS
50 G/1¾ OZ/½ CUP WALNUTS, FINELY CHOPPED
200 g/7 oz Almond Marzipan
about 250 g/9 oz/9 squares dark chocolate
16 walnut halves
Knead the finely chopped walnuts and/or other flavourings into the marzipan and shape it into a neat sausage, about 25 cm/10 in long. Trim the ends and cut the sausage at 1.5 cm/⅝ in intervals to make 16 rounds. Neaten the shape if necessary.
Place the rounds on a wire rack and leave to stand uncovered at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The surface should feel dry to the touch and not at all oily.
Melt (or temper) the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, then drop a piece of marzipan into it. Swirl it around to coat well, then remove it with a dipping or dining fork, tapping the fork several times on the rim of the bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Deposit the coated round gently onto greaseproof paper and repeat for the rest. Gently place a walnut half in the centre of each one. Don’t press, or you will wrinkle the top.
Leave the marzipan to set completely on a wire rack before removing from the paper and storing in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.
If you have ever invested in the fruity marzipan-like French delicacy ‘Calissons d’Aix’, sold by good ‘confiseries’ and available directly from France at the click of a mouse, you will know how expensive it is. Try my homemade version instead. The authentic ones use candied melon and that is very difficult to obtain outside of France or Italy, so I replace it with candied citron. If you can’t find that either, use more orange. You will need orange flower water and edible paper as well. The good news is that they are easy to make and fairly quick, if you discount the resting time. I cut them simply into rectangles, but you can try cutting them in the typical pointed oval, if you can find a cutter. However, you will then have to do a lot of neatening of the glaze, as the cutter will not be as effective as a knife, and you will also end up with a lot of trimmings.
Makes about 16 bars, about 2.5 × 6 cm/ 1 × 2½ in or small squares as desired
125 g/4½ oz/scant 1½ cups blanched almonds, finely ground
50 g/1¾ oz/scant ½ cup icing sugar
50 g/1¾ oz/¼ cup caster sugar
100 g/3½ oz candied citron, diced
100 g/3½ oz candied orange peel, diced
1½ tbsp orange flower water edible wafer paper
For the glaze
100 g/3½ oz/scant 1 cup icing sugar
2 tbsp egg white, as needed
Put the almonds, icing sugar, caster sugar, citron and orange peel in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add the orange flower water and pulse until you get a smooth mixture.
Place a sheet of clingfilm on your work surface. Place the almond mixture on it and flatten it with your hands. Cover with a second sheet of clingfilm and roll out to an even thickness of 1 cm/½ in. (Approx. 22 × 14 cm/8½ × 5½ in.) Remove the top sheet of clingfilm.
Cover the surface completely with edible wafer paper, trimming it to fit. Wrap well with the bottom sheet of clingfilm and leave for 24 hours at cool room temperature.
Next day, sift the icing sugar for the glaze into a small bowl and add enough egg white to make a stiff but spreadable consistency. Mix thoroughly but gently to avoid bubbles. Unwrap the almond mixture and place on a cutting board paper-side-down, otherwise you will spoil the finish if you have to move it later.
Spread the glaze evenly over the surface and leave uncovered for 2–3 hours so that the glaze becomes firm enough to cut through neatly. Use a sharp knife to cut into bars or squares, or as you wish. Make sure that you cut all the way down through the paper and clean the knife frequently between cuts so that it doesn’t drag the glaze.
Preheat the oven to 130°C/266°F/Gas Mark ½–1.
Arrange the bars or squares on a baking sheet and leave the glaze to dry in the oven for about 20 minutes. The glaze should barely colour and may still feel slightly soft to the touch until it cools and hardens properly. Leave to cool on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack. They can be eaten immediately and will keep for a few weeks in an airtight container in a cool place.
You can vary these to suit by cutting the marzipan into sticks instead and using dark or white chocolate. White chocolate will, of course, make them sweeter.
Makes 16 squares
200 g/7 oz Pistachio Marzipan
200–250 g/7–9 oz/7–9 squares dark chocolate small pieces of crystallised rose petals (optional)
Roll out the marzipan to a thickness of 1.5 cm/⅝ in and cut 16 neat squares, re-rolling and using the trimmings too.
Place the squares on a wire rack and leave to stand uncovered at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The surface should feel dry to the touch and not at all oily.
Melt (or temper) the chocolate in a heatproof bowl, then drop a piece of marzipan into it. Swirl it around to coat well, then remove it with a dipping or dining fork, tapping the fork several times on the rim of the bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Deposit it gently onto greaseproof paper and repeat for the rest.
Gently drop a piece of crystallised rose in the centre of each one. Don’t press, or you will wrinkle the top.
Leave to set completely on a wire rack before removing from the paper and storing in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.
Although the milk-based ‘burfis’ are most widely known, there are other kinds too, such as this cashew version, which is more like marzipan than anything else. It is very simple to make, but you will need untoasted cashews, which you can buy from health food shops or Indian grocers, and it is best to make it the day before you need it so that the nutty flavour is able to come to the fore. Embellished with a touch of edible silver leaf, this will make a delicious and eye-catching addition to your sweet plate. The silver has no flavour whatsoever, but adds a nice Bollywood touch. Indian grocers stock it, as do the better suppliers of sugar craft ingredients.
Makes about 16 pieces
butter, for greasing
150 g/5½ oz/1 cup untoasted cashews
150 g/5½ oz/¾ cup granulated sugar
110 ml/3½ fl oz/generous ⅓ cup water edible silver leaf, to decorate (optional)
Grease a dinner plate and set aside.
Grind the cashew nuts as finely as you can and put them in a dry non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes, moving the nuts constantly. They are ready when they start to give off a pleasant, nutty aroma. Do not let them colour. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.
Put the sugar and water in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves completely. Attach a sugar thermometer to the pan, increase the heat and bring to the boil. Leave to boil without stirring until it reaches 110°C/230°F (thread stage) and remove immediately from the heat.
Remove the thermometer and pour the syrup over the cashews in the bowl. Stir for a minute or so until the mixture starts to bind so that it will hold its shape well when you scrape it out onto the plate, but still be malleable enough to mould and shape. If you continue to mix until it is very stiff, your burfi will be dry and brittle, so take care.
Using a plastic or metal scraper, quickly scrape the mixture out onto the dinner plate and shape it into a square, about 15 × 15 cm/6 × 6 in; it should be 1.5 cm/⅝ in thick. Use the scraper to straighten the edges and to compress the top of the mixture. Make 3 parallel cuts to divide the block into 4 slices, then make as many parallel cuts as needed, at an angle of 45°, to create diamond shapes.
If using the silver decoration, apply a little to the tops of the diamonds and leave to cool.
When cool, loosen the burfi carefully from the plate. If it sticks, heat the base of the plate briefly to melt the butter. Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for a day before serving. It will keep in the container for several days.
Cherry Marzipan Bites
They look like truffles, but the chocolate covering hides a layer of marzipan that in its turn conceals a flavourful cherry. Amarena cherries are an Italian speciality that are sold in jars with syrup. They have a wonderfully distinctive taste and go very well with anything made from almonds, such as these bites. The remaining syrup can be drizzled or poured over ice cream and other desserts.
16 Amarena cherries (in syrup)
250 g/9 oz Almond Marzipan
200–250 g/7–9 oz/7–9 squares dark chocolate
Rinse the cherries and pat them dry with kitchen paper.
Divide the marzipan into 16 equal portions. Flatten each portion and use it to encase a cherry, sealing well. Roll between your palms to form a neat ball and set aside on a wire rack.
Shape the rest in the same way and leave to stand uncovered at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The surface should feel dry to the touch and not at all oily.
Melt (or temper) the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and drop a ball into it. Swirl it around a little to coat well, then remove it with a dipping or dining fork, tapping the fork several times on the rim of the bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Deposit it gently onto greaseproof paper and repeat for the rest.
Leave to set completely on a wire rack before removing from the paper and storing in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.
Here is one that looks similar to the Cherry Bites, but with pistachio marzipan and a ‘surprise’ chocolate filling instead. You can make the chocolate filling beforehand and keep it chilled for a day or so before using it. Be warned that the brandy gives quite a kick, so replace it with cream if you prefer. Decorate the balls with tiny pieces of gold or silver leaf, or with whole pistachios if you like, or simply wrap them in gold or green foil wrappers.
Makes 16
250 g/9 oz Pistachio Marzipan
200–250 g/7–9 oz/7–9 squares dark chocolate
For the filling
100 g/3½ oz/3½ squares dark chocolate
30 ml/2 tbsp double cream
1 tbsp brandy (or replace with cream)
For the filling, melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Warm the cream with the brandy and stir it into the melted chocolate until smooth. Leave to cool completely, then chill until firm.
Shape into 16 balls and keep them chilled or pop them into the freezer for a few minutes. If the balls are not firm enough, they will be harder to coat with marzipan and will get out of shape. If your kitchen is not cool, remove them from the refrigerator or freezer in 2 batches, as needed.
Divide the marzipan into 16 equal portions. Flatten each portion and use it to encase a ball of filling, sealing well. Roll between your palms to form a neat ball and set aside on a wire rack. Shape the rest in the same way and leave to stand uncovered at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Melt (or temper) the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and drop a ball into it. Swirl it around a little to coat well, then remove it with a dipping or dining fork, tapping the fork several times on the rim of the bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Deposit it gently onto greaseproof paper and repeat for the rest.
Decorate as you wish and leave to set completely before removing from the paper and storing in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.
You can dress up a cake by covering it with a layer of Almond Marzipan, tinted in an attractive pastel colour. Make sure that the cake is free of crumbs and brush it lightly with warm sieved apricot jam so that the marzipan will stick. If you tint a few small bits in other colours, they can be used to make extra decorations. These can be simple flat shapes such as stars, butterflies, leaves, and flower cut-outs, or you can make roses by pressing small balls of marzipan flat with your thumb and joining them in layers onto a tiny central cone.
Dates, apricots and other dried fruit can be filled with marzipan, and walnut halves can be sandwiched. Use plain Almond Marzipan or tint it as desired. Or use the Pistachio Marzipan for a real Middle Eastern flavour.
Simply roll out the Almond or Pistachio Marzipan to the desired thickness (or shape into a sausage) and cut into the required shape. A whole nut can be pressed into the tops of squares and lozenges. A little sugar syrup or glucose syrup will help it to stay in place.
These are known as toot in Iran and are simply blunt cone shapes of marzipan that are rolled in sugar, with a sliver of pistachio pressed into the wide end to simulate a stem.
Using two or three colours of Almond Marzipan – for instance, plain, pink and green – you can create a nice effect. Roll out the pieces of marzipan to an even thickness and place them one on top of the other. Press lightly with the rolling pin and cut into squares or roll up to form a sausage and then cut into discs that show the spiral pattern.
