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How to Make Marzipan

July 8, 2014 by Laura 115 Comments

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Why learn how to make marzipan? Because it’s delicious and much easier to make at home than you might have thought.  It does not even require baking or cooking.

If you don’t even know what marzipan is, don’t feel left out – join the club. I didn’t know anything about it until I needed to use it in a recipe. 

Have you ever seen adorable edible fruits, vegetables, animals or other items sitting on top of a cake or candy or in a bakery store case. Did you ever wonder what they are made of?

It’s just a combination of blanched, finely ground almonds, sugar, and something to bind those ingredients together.

ingredients for homemade marzipan

The confection is also used in lots of baked goods, especially Danish pastry, and those beautiful almond crescents I lust after in bakery cases. slices of marzipan

Grocery stores sell marzipan (typically near chips and other baking supplies), but it’s frightfully expensive. Now that I know how easy it is to make, I’ll never pay those high prices again.

Plus, when I mentioned this adventure to several friends, their eyes lit up, so I’ll revisit this homemade goodie at holiday time. It would make an easy and delicious homemade gift, like candied ginger and chocolate bark.

Homemade marzipan is delicious, easy to make, and inexpensive.

Marzipan came on my radar when I made my friend Marguerite’s gluten-free berry cake.  

gluten-free cake

The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of gluten-free marzipan. The only brand I could find, Odense, claims to be gluten-free, but uses wheat starch. (The company website says that the amount of wheat contained in their marzipan is below the FDA standard so they can call their product gluten-free.) That fact, plus the $6 price tag (for more than I needed) convinced me to make my own marzipan.

Marzipan Tips

  • You can make it uncooked or you can cook the sugar syrup before combining  it with ground almonds.
  • The ratio of ground almonds to sugar varies tremendously depending on the recipe. I found ratios of almonds to sugar from just over 1-to-4 (in the Odense brand) to a 3-to-2 ratio in one homemade recipe.
  • Marzipan needs a binding agent to hold the dry ingredients together. That can be egg white, lemon juice, corn syrup or other liquid sugar, water, liqueur (especially Kirsch, which is cherry-flavored) or some combination. For food safety reasons, it’s best not to use egg white if you are doing the uncooked version (unless the marzipan will be baked into a pastry.)
  • Some recipes give the marzipan a flavor boost with almond extract, while others do not. 
  • If the almond flavor is more intense, the name used is often almond paste. However, in practice the name is not always a good guide to what percentage of the sweet is actually almonds. For example, Odense brand marzipan is 28% almonds and Odense almond paste is 45% almonds. Another brand, Love ‘n Bake, uses 40% almonds in its marzipan, making it almost like the Odense almond paste. The Love ‘n Bake almond paste is made with 66% almonds.

To see how easy it is to make marzipan, watch the video:

Luckily, I promised a neighbor some of my marzipan or I might have eaten the whole log myself. 

Homemade marzipan | Mother Would Know
4.85 from 13 votes
Print

Marzipan

Homemade marzipan is much tastier than store-bought, and a lot less expensive. 

Course Dessert
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 10 one-ounce servings
Author Laura

Ingredients

  • 3 5/8 ounces blanched ground almonds Approximately 1 cup
  • 5 2/5 ounces confectioners (powdered) sugar Approximately 2 cups
  • 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

  1. Sift the almond flour and confectioners sugar together into a large bowl and mix them until they are well combined. The mixture looks like a pillowy, off-white powder.

    Sifting almond flour and confectioners sugar for marzipan.
  2. Mix the almond extract and corn syrup together, then add them to dry ingredients. 

  3. Add water very slowly, by no more than half tablespoons at a time, working the mixture until it becomes dough-like. I usually begin with a fork or spatula, then switch to using my hands. Try to use no more than 1-2 tablespoons of water total - use the minimum amount that will, with the heat of your hands mixing the ingredients, allow you to roll it into a log. 

    A log of marzipan
  4. Put the log into a gallon-size freezer bag, gently roll the log a bit more to smooth it out, and refrigerate the log for at least one hour before serving or using in baked goods. 

    Log of marzipan in freezer bag, ready for chilling.

Recipe Notes

The recipe uses only 4 ingredients, 5 if you count water.

Ingredients for marzipan

Use well-blanched almond flour that is light tan in color, not almond flour that contains the dark skins of the almonds. 

I used store brand almond extract. Although I was tempted to buy the expensive stuff, it turns out that when my son, Liam, and his friends did an almond extract taste test, the store brand was actually preferred by several of my taste testers. 

To serve the marzipan on its own, slice the log into pieces 1/4-1/2 inch thick. 

Homemade marzipan is delicious and easy to make. Much less expensive than store-bought too.

If you want to really go to town, cut each piece in half and dip it in melted chocolate.

Chocolate-covered homemade marzipan.

Here is the Gluten-Free Berry Cake that started this marzipan adventure.

Filed Under: Archives, Desserts & Other Sweets Tagged With: almond, candy, dessert, gluten-free, how to, marzipan

« Blanched Nuts, Fruits or Vegetables – Definition
Salade Niçoise »

Comments

  1. Anne-Marie @ This Mama Cooks! On a Diet says

    November 23, 2014 at 4:11 pm

    I adore marizpan and your recipes looks fantastic! Plus it’s so hard to get fresh marzipan. It’s always very dried out. When I was a kid I came across a recipe in National Geographic Kids for a marizpan recipe that used potatoes and almond extract. However, this was back in the ’70s when it was hard to get almond flour or even raw almonds, so it was a decent alternative.

    Reply
    • motherwouldknow says

      November 24, 2014 at 1:58 pm

      Ann-Marie, So glad you like the marzipan and the recipes. Now that I know how to make it myself, I’m not buying it – so much easier and less expensive these days. A far cry from those days in the 1970’s (yes, I remember them too) when it was difficult to get raw almonds or almond flour.

      Reply
      • Sharon (Shari) Jones says

        October 6, 2018 at 11:14 pm

        So, from what you’re saying, are almond flour and ground blanched almonds the same thing?

        Reply
        • Laura says

          October 11, 2018 at 9:54 pm

          Yes. Typically almond flour is a bit finer than you can get by home grinding your blanched almonds, but in theory they are the same.

          Reply
  2. Barrett @ Dirty Laundry Kitchen says

    February 12, 2015 at 5:34 pm

    As a huge almond fan, I’m excited to try this sometime. Marzipan is one of the things I almost always have on hand, but how cool to make your own.

    Reply
  3. Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says

    February 13, 2015 at 12:08 am

    I am such a fan of almond extract. I adore this!

    Reply
  4. Joanie @ ZagLeft says

    February 13, 2015 at 1:24 pm

    This is a fantastic post. I love it when the opportunity presents itself and we have to teach ourselves something new. I’ve wondered how to make marzipan so I’ll be bookmarking this to try in the future.

    Reply
  5. Cyrus says

    April 21, 2015 at 2:02 am

    I had no idea that making marzipan could be done so easy. I had always been intimidated by its seeming intricateness to make!

    Reply
    • motherwouldknow says

      April 22, 2015 at 1:28 pm

      Cyrus – Thanks for stopping by. Do try it. Making marzipan is like making homemade Play Doh 🙂

      Reply
  6. Arman @ thebigmansworld says

    April 21, 2015 at 7:58 am

    Laura this is a fantastic tutorial- I used to love breaking apart candy houses as a kid and almost breaking my teeth on marzipan..then getting chased with a wooden spoon.

    Reply
    • motherwouldknow says

      April 22, 2015 at 1:21 pm

      Arman, I’m imagining you breaking the candy houses with your sister standing by, frantically calling for your mom (or mum as I guess you’d call her:)

      Reply
  7. Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen says

    April 21, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    I’ve never made my own marzipan – great tutorial! I think my toddler would have fun helping out in the kitchen with this, and then making little animals/shapes that he can then eat 🙂

    Reply
    • motherwouldknow says

      April 22, 2015 at 1:21 pm

      Ashley – I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as your toddler will. It’s a blast. Brings back memories of Play Doh for me, but this stuff is divinely edible.

      Reply
  8. Rene B. says

    April 21, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    It’s been over a decade since I last made marzipan: I’d forgotten how much I love it until I was reading through your post. I especially enjoy making little fruit baskets to give out for the holidays.

    Reply
    • motherwouldknow says

      April 22, 2015 at 1:19 pm

      Renee, How lovely that you’ve already made marzipan. I was amazed at how simple it was and how many memories it brings back for friends and relatives.

      Reply
  9. Brenda says

    October 26, 2015 at 4:26 pm

    My dad has a birthday on the 2nd of November and he absolutely loves marzipan. I think I am going to make this for him for his birthday instead of his usual block of swiss cheese. How long will this stay fresh?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      October 26, 2015 at 9:47 pm

      Brenda, I’m delighted that you’re going to make it for your dad. I’ve never been able to keep it around long enough to test its “shelf life” but I would keep it tightly covered and refrigerated for however long it lasts. I checked around the net and soem sources said to refrigerate it and others said not to do so. I would because it is basically a nut dough and I store opened packages of nuts in the refrigerator. I would imagine that it should last at least several weeks, but again, I haven’t tested it for length of storage.

      Reply
    • Brenda says

      November 1, 2015 at 8:46 pm

      Gave my dad his marzipan tonight and he absolutely loved it! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Do you have other recipes that you include marzipan in? My dad is curious.

      Reply
  10. Heike says

    November 1, 2015 at 1:30 pm

    Hello,
    I love your recipe! I have made marzipan myself, but thank you for your tip using corn syrup, great idea! Also I would like to recommend adding a spoonful of rose water which is widely used in the orient for making sweet dishes. Try it out, it brings marzipan up a notch! Thank you for your great website!!!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 1, 2015 at 11:03 pm

      Many thanks for your kind words Heike. I’m definitely going to try your tip about adding rosewater – I do love it in Middle Eastern sweets.

      Reply
  11. David says

    November 7, 2015 at 11:49 am

    Laura, you mention not using egg white, but what about egg whites from pasteurized eggs?. I like your tutorial.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 22, 2015 at 7:30 pm

      David, You’re right that using pasteurized egg whites in homemade marzipan is a good way to avoid the safety concerns associated with using raw egg whites in uncooked marzipan. Glad you liked the tutorial.

      Reply
  12. Joan Wells says

    February 8, 2016 at 11:58 am

    I tried this recipe and it is not marzipan! It tastes like almond flavoured sugar. I have tasted marzipan all over Europe and it is nothing like this. I wasted my ingredients making it. First time I have ever had to make a negative comment , but I do not want people to think this passes as marzipan.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      February 12, 2016 at 4:56 pm

      Sorry to hear that you didn’t like the marzipan. Before writing this post and creating the recipe, I extensively researched marzipan and have tasted my fair share of it – in Europe and in the states. This recipe works for me and many others who have tried it. Last week I used a slight variation in Dutch pastries called rondos and banket – a number of Dutch friends raved about them, including the filling. PS – The recipe only works well with very high quality blanched almonds. If the almonds aren’t blanched (as in the ground almonds that Trader Joe’s sells) or if the almonds are not very finely ground, I can imagine that the marzipan would not taste very good.

      Reply
      • chuck sellers says

        February 12, 2020 at 1:54 am

        5 stars
        There will always be a few people who don’t like a recipe. I love marzipan and yours is one of the best.

        Reply
        • Laura says

          March 9, 2020 at 4:43 pm

          xoxoxo Laura

          Reply
    • Evelyn says

      September 1, 2019 at 12:15 pm

      I agree. My parents were German and I grew up eating marzipan. World renown Niederegger marzipan maker uses a 65% almond meal and no more than 35% sugar in their marzipan.

      Reply
  13. Emily says

    April 7, 2016 at 7:20 pm

    HI Laura,
    Thanks for the good Marzipan Recipe. I just made it and it turned out really good ,soft and pliable. I like to know, if i can substitute honey for corn syrup?
    some recipes call for bitter almond extract or ground bitter almond, any idea how much i can use in this recipe?. Finally what kind of coloring should be used to color the marzipan? ( preferably natural colors).
    can I use cocoa butter colors?
    Thank you for answering my questions.
    Best Regards
    Emily

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 13, 2016 at 11:40 am

      Emily,

      Many thanks for stopping by and for your kind words. I have never tried honey as a substitute for corn syrup. I think it would work, but can’t be sure. I couldn’t find bitter almond extract or ground bitter almond so I didn’t get to try it in this recipe. Here is some advice I found on using bitter almonds. Apparently marzipan made in Lubeck, Germany is supposed to be the best in the world. The recipe is simple, “The best marzipan recipes use a two to one ratio of almonds and sugar. The old masters don’t consider a mix that contains more than half sugar as true marzipan. A trick used to make really great marzipan is to use 1 bitter almond to every 100 good almonds in the almond mix. If you’ve ever tasted a bitter almond, you understand how only one can have a serious effect. The smallest taste is an extremely gross experience you won’t soon forget. A bitter almond uniquely alters the recipe and is always used in the best almond paste used in marzipan. One note about bitter almonds: do not be eat them in large amounts because they contain to trace amounts of cyanide.” http://www.cheftalk.com/t/7620/questions-about-marzipan While that doesn’t tell you exactly how much to use in this recipe, it does suggest that you would use very little. Using natural food colors is a great idea. I haven’t tried it, but do let me know what you find out if you play around with them. Regards, Laura

      Reply
  14. Attila says

    August 9, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    Hi … I don’t like the, even it not so much, granulated sugar feel coming from the confectioners sugar when tasting marzipan. I tried the recipe without it, but it was too sticky. Is there any good recipe without confectioners sugar and the end result is not too sticky? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 11, 2016 at 4:40 pm

      Attila, Sorry if the marzipan isn’t to your taste. I’m not sure what you’re looking for in terms of a substitution for the confectioners sugar. You need a sweetening agent: sugar, honey, or an artificial sweetener such as swerve is required.

      Reply
  15. Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says

    December 9, 2016 at 8:29 am

    I love marzipan, but I’ve only made it once and that was years ago. It’s so addictively delicious, and I can imagine that dipping it into chocolate really takes it over the top!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      December 18, 2016 at 6:13 pm

      Faith, Even thinking about chocolate-dipped marzipan brings a smile to my face. Thanks for stopping by and happy holidays.

      Reply
  16. olivia @ livforcake says

    December 9, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    Wow, this is way easier than I thought it would be! Who knew there were so many variations in recipes. Thanks for the insight!!

    Reply
  17. Erik says

    December 14, 2016 at 6:02 pm

    I must had done something wrong. It came out really dry. I followed the recipe. Came out dry

    Reply
    • Laura says

      December 18, 2016 at 5:45 pm

      Erik, So sorry to hear that. I have made this recipe several times and it always works for me. There may be reasons (such as the dryness of your climate or a slight difference in the amounts of various ingredients used) that could cause the marzipan to need additional water to make it hold together. If you add a bit more corn syrup, it will be sweeter, but will also possibly hold together better. Hope you’ll find the glitch and get a better batch next time.

      Reply
    • Carol K. says

      December 31, 2016 at 3:00 pm

      I had the same problem as Erik. Even added additional corn syrup and the full 1 Tblsp. of water. I used Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour but it was cold when I started. Wonder if that made a difference.

      Reply
      • Laura says

        January 5, 2017 at 4:50 pm

        Carol, Hmmm. I’ll have to try it with cold and room temperature flour to see if it makes a difference. Thanks for stopping by and letting me know your experience with the recipe.

        Reply
  18. Carol K. says

    December 31, 2016 at 11:45 am

    How long will this keep pls. and can it be frozen for later use?
    Thank you in advance

    Reply
    • Laura says

      January 5, 2017 at 4:53 pm

      Carol, I’ve never tried to keep the marzipan longer than a few days and haven’t frozen it, so I don’t know. Most of the time, I’ve used the marzipan immediately for a recipe. It seems as if it should freeze, though I wonder if the consistency would become more crumbly.

      Reply
  19. Misty Garrison says

    September 15, 2017 at 9:23 am

    4 stars
    My mouth is watering after reading your site. I made marzipan when I was a teen and remember how fun and great it tasted. So happy I stumbled upon your site, will let you know how it turns out. Thanks, Misty

    Reply
    • Laura says

      September 18, 2017 at 12:24 pm

      Misty, So glad you stopped by. Hope you’ll become a regular here.

      Reply
  20. julie Lewis says

    October 17, 2017 at 5:26 am

    Marzipan cannot be imported to Australia anymore. Thanks for this, it will be my job for tomorrow.
    loving Christmas baking.

    Reply
    • Kyle says

      December 7, 2017 at 2:26 pm

      Hello Julia,

      Wanted to ask about Marzipan not being imported to Australia anymore. Do you know why? I am aware that most of the world’s production of almonds comes from California where genetic modification is being applied (saw it on my box of store-bought marzipan for the first time this year). Perhaps due to this tinkering, Australia doesn’t want it such crops to be brought into the country. If that’s indeed the case, then I applaud Australian officials for their decision.

      Reply
  21. Kyle says

    December 7, 2017 at 2:20 pm

    Interesting that you use light corn syrup with vanilla (see posted image). Until seeing this recipe, I hadn’t known there to be corn syrup with vanilla. Most other recipes use egg whites (usually pasteurized). Does the corn syrup make for a moister mix (rather than egg whites)?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      January 15, 2018 at 3:58 pm

      Kyle, It’s difficult to find pasteurized eggs where I live and corn syrup is easily available. I haven’t tried the recipe with the egg whites, so I can’t say whether the corn syrup makes the mix moister. I use almond extract, not vanilla, so I’m not sure what your comment about the vanilla is about.

      Reply
  22. Markus says

    April 6, 2018 at 5:04 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely divine ; like many other people here, I didn’t realise how easy it was to make my very own marzipan 🙂 I love strong tastes so actually ended up putting in double quantity of almond essence and also added 1 teaspoon of rose water. Me and my kids are polishing it off.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 10, 2018 at 4:42 pm

      Markus, How wonderful that you’ve made this discovery. Glad you and your kids are enjoying homemade marzipan now.

      Reply
  23. Nancy says

    May 3, 2018 at 7:00 pm

    5 stars
    I know it wouldn’t be real marzipan but I’m allergic to tree nuts but saw this lovely fruit that I believe was made with marzipan. It looked like the real fruit and it had what looked like pie fillings inside and the fruit had a hard sugar coating and stems so it looked like cherries and apples, oranges or peaches with fuzzy coating and when they cut them the filling flowed out. Looked like marzipan surrounded the filling.
    So I was wondering, know it wouldn’t taste the same, if you could use like rice flour, peanut flour or something like that and put a different flavor that would represent the fruit you were making. Didn’t think regular flour would work as I would think it needed to be baked or would taste like raw flour.
    Hope you have an answer, I don’t do that much baking but these looked really good. 😋

    Reply
    • Laura says

      May 4, 2018 at 11:43 am

      I do wish that I had an answer for you but I’ve never come across anything like what you’re describing. Your question made me wonder if there is a solution and in a few minutes of quick “googling” I came up with a couple of recipes for a semolina flour and sugar recipe that seems like it gets good reviews. Here is an example: https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/nut-free-marzipan.html Hope that helps.

      Reply
  24. Dee Myers says

    December 14, 2018 at 9:48 pm

    5 stars
    Caster sugar may work for the lady who did not like powdered sugar.I despise the taste of it too. a pinch of salt can help take the edge off the sharpness of the sugar.
    Caster sugar has a texture between granulated and powdered sugar.Candy recipes rarely take well to altering but try this and see if you like the results.it made a fine light marzipan.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      December 18, 2018 at 7:01 pm

      Dee, Many thanks. I think it’s difficult to find caster sugar in the US, but I’ll bet it makes a fine marzipan.

      Reply
  25. jeewan says

    December 22, 2018 at 6:20 am

    this recipe was the uncooked version like to share the cooked version hearing from u soon christmas is around the corner we don get marzipan here in our country,

    Reply
    • Laura says

      December 29, 2018 at 10:56 am

      Jeewan, Thanks for stopping by. Glad you liked this version. I haven’t done a cooked version. If you do one, I hope you’ll let us know how it goes.

      Reply
  26. B says

    January 17, 2019 at 8:56 am

    Hello could you tell me if this recipe would hold up in the middle of stollen bread ? I have read for marzipan to hold firm in baking you have to use egg whites ,any info would help I so want to use your recipe ,thanks

    Reply
    • Laura says

      January 18, 2019 at 2:30 pm

      I haven’t tried this marzipan recipe in stollen bread, though now that you mention it, stollen is on my bucket list of things I want to bake. I would imagine that it should work because this version can be rolled out. For example, see Paul Hollywood’s version of stollen (which he demonstrates in a masterpiece class on The Great British Baking Show – and yes, I know stollen is German and not British in origin – https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/stollen_27553. If you try it, please let us know how it works. I’m definitely interested in trying stollen. And also let me know which stollen recipe you use. Thanks.

      Reply
  27. Olga says

    March 4, 2019 at 2:31 pm

    5 stars
    Laura, it’s really awesome! This will quickly become a favorite in our house!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 11, 2019 at 1:22 pm

      Olga, Many thanks. I made some more just a few weeks ago – really a money saver for marzipan lovers.

      Reply
  28. Nataly says

    March 19, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    5 stars
    That recipe looks so yummy! I’ll have to try that one. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 20, 2019 at 10:39 am

      Nataly, Hope you enjoy it. Making marzipan is a snap – so much more delicious and less expensive than store-bought.

      Reply
  29. Claire Grover says

    March 30, 2019 at 5:53 pm

    This wasn’t great. I’ve made marzipan half a dozen times, searching for the perfect recipe. I have a pronounced sweet tooth, but this was sickly sweet to my taste. I also feel cheated out of expensive ingredients.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 2, 2019 at 11:29 am

      Claire, Sorry you didn’t like this version. As the post indicates, there are many versions out there with different ratios of almond flour to sweetener.

      Reply
  30. Al says

    April 28, 2019 at 9:40 pm

    Thank you so much for this. Was in a hurry tonight, dumped the pound of TJ’s almonds I blanched (a little too long) in the food processor, eyeballed the rest of the ingredients, realized we had only vanilla instead of almond extract, and made it anyway. It came out great, though technically not marzipan — husband who’d never touch marzipan likes this batch as he’s not a fan of almond extract. (BTW, the H2O took me by surprise as it wasn’t in the ingredient list “wait! what?” 🙂 ). Anyway, we’re part German descent and have tried lots of marzipan from all over. This was just as good, super-fresh, and no extra sorbitol or other sugars or coloring. An easy and very forgiving recipe.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 29, 2019 at 11:26 am

      Al, Delighted that you liked the recipe and honored that you found it to pass the “family heritage taste test.” As to why water is in the recipe but not listed among the ingredients, that is a convention among recipe writers. Water has not traditionally been included as an ingredient. However, that may be changing as I noticed water listed in the ingredients in a new cookbook I bought, so I’ll change my style if I’m behind the times:)

      Reply
  31. Robert Parker says

    May 5, 2019 at 5:09 am

    You may like to mention that there are some people that either do not like Almond, or are allergic to that particular nut.
    I found this out when a friend told me they could not use Marzipan because of this.
    I substituted Hazlenut for almond. I took the hazlenuts and blitzed them in a coffe grinder until they were the correct consistency, i.e. flour. I used a mix of Icing and granulateed sugar, also blitzed to break down the granules.
    I did use egg as a binder, also a little honey in the water.
    I have since experimented with other nuts, such as Cashew (did not work), Brazil, ( not too bad), and pistachio ( really did not work).

    Reply
    • Laura says

      May 10, 2019 at 1:45 pm

      Robert, Your experiments with different types of nuts are so interesting. I love that you found hazelnuts work well – I am not surprised. After all, they are the basis for Nutella and similar spreads. Glad to know too that I should not even consider substituting cashews, Brazil nuts or pistachios. I don’t use egg as part of the binder in the US unless I’m using pasteurized eggs because of a concern about salmonella.

      Reply
  32. SHELLEY MACEIL says

    May 21, 2019 at 9:19 pm

    5 stars
    Love this recipe. I did used the ratio 2 almond flour and 3 sugar. Used my kitchen aid mixer and it mixed the marzipan great. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      May 22, 2019 at 1:42 pm

      Shelley, So glad you enjoyed the recipe. Your enthusiasm really made my day!

      Reply
  33. Christine says

    June 12, 2019 at 2:39 pm

    HaHa I just took a chance on looking up a recipe for marzipan on line and saw your recipe! I’m gonna take a chance even tho one of the reviews said pistachios won’t work I have some pecans and a lot of pistachios on hand right now and the pure almond extract and corn syrup so I’m just gonna give it a shot I’ll let you know how it comes out

    Reply
    • Laura says

      June 20, 2019 at 11:34 am

      Christine – Wonderful. I’d love to hear how the experiment turns out. And if it’s a winner, I’ll have to try it myself, as I love all kinds of nut “paste”.

      Reply
  34. Heather says

    July 13, 2019 at 2:31 am

    Yay going to try it; but aren’t almonds toxic if eaten raw…? I’ll cook it thx

    Reply
    • Laura says

      July 23, 2019 at 3:21 pm

      Heather, Not sure if you’re referring to “regular” raw almonds, the kind you buy in the grocery are toxic. I don’t think they are. the only toxicity I am aware of related to bitter almonds, which are not typically sold as food.

      Reply
  35. Margaret says

    August 8, 2019 at 10:49 pm

    Hello Laura,

    Thank you so much for this easy recipe!.. I can’t wait to try it! Do you think this recipe would work to roll out to cover a cake?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 20, 2019 at 10:28 am

      Margaret, I’ve never tried rolling it out. I do know that it works to make small decorations:)

      Reply
  36. Patricia Balleser says

    August 14, 2019 at 12:18 am

    Could this be used as a sort of fondant layer on a cake like the IKEA Princess cakes?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 20, 2019 at 10:30 am

      Patricia, I have no idea if it works as a layer on a cake. If you try it, let me know if it works to your satisfaction. I have used it to make small decorations though:)

      Reply
      • Susan says

        December 7, 2019 at 4:23 pm

        If you put this on a Christmas dark fruit cake !how do you have to store it?

        Reply
        • Laura says

          December 9, 2019 at 4:49 pm

          Susan, It doesn’t have egg, so it does not need to be refrigerated. Store the fruitcake as you normally would.

          Reply
  37. MJ says

    August 24, 2019 at 4:37 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for the terrific recipe! I was going to order some online but the shipping was more than the marzipan. I found your recipe and BAM! I have marzipan.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      September 12, 2019 at 4:40 pm

      MJ – Fabulous! Glad to be of service.

      Reply
  38. Bonnie Arvay says

    September 4, 2019 at 9:05 am

    Laura, I have regularly used fondant to make cake decorations but have been told marzipan has a more preferable taste (at for some). I am eager to try your recipe but am wondering how it holds up, shape wise, when making decorations. For reference, would be using this to make small-ish objects, approx 1 inch in size.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      September 12, 2019 at 4:33 pm

      Bonnie, I’ve never used this marzipan to make decorations. It is rather hard so in theory it should be ok for small items. If you try it let me know how it goes.

      Reply
  39. doug says

    November 16, 2019 at 6:21 pm

    Just a note about the gluten free Odense marzipan- if it contains only wheat starch then it is in fact gluten free. The gluten is the protein from wheat, and the starch is purely carbohydrate.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 18, 2019 at 11:10 am

      Doug – thanks. I did not know that.

      Reply
  40. Kay says

    November 16, 2019 at 10:05 pm

    Hi,
    I am so excited to try to make marzipan!
    Is there difference in buying almond flour or grounding the almonds in a Cuisinart?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      November 18, 2019 at 11:09 am

      The only difference is the texture – typically almond flour is finer than almonds ground in the Cuisinart.

      Reply
  41. Kelsey says

    February 4, 2020 at 2:02 pm

    Hi there! Is this recipe ideal for rolling out to cover a cake?

    Reply
  42. Kelsey says

    February 5, 2020 at 3:10 am

    Will this roll out well for covering cakes?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 9, 2020 at 4:46 pm

      Kelsey, I’ve never tried to cover a cake in marzipan, so I don’t know. If you try it, let me know.

      Reply
      • Gerda says

        October 12, 2020 at 5:44 pm

        5 stars
        Cafe Niederegger in Lübeck sells and serves Marzipan Torte which is layers of white cake with layers of whipped cream with coarse lay ground Hazelnuts. This cake is covered with a sheet of marzipan. Delicious!

        Reply
        • Laura says

          October 28, 2020 at 7:32 pm

          Sounds fabulous. Maybe I’ll get to taste it one day? That would be lovely.

          Reply
  43. Juli says

    June 16, 2020 at 7:53 pm

    4 stars
    Really easy to make- only took me about an hour to get everything ready and go through it. I doubled the recipe to keep half as a dessert, and the other to make punschrulle. Kneading the dough was really tough, but I would still do it again!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      June 17, 2020 at 5:35 pm

      Juli, I’m delighted that you found it easy and enjoyed the marzipan. Hope to see you back here again sometime soon.

      Reply
  44. Merriam says

    July 16, 2020 at 11:10 pm

    Wanting to try this.. can I use glucose syrup instead of corn syrup? Thanks so much,!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      July 28, 2020 at 6:09 pm

      Merriam, I’ve never substituted glucose syrup for corn syrup, but it looks as though you should be able to do a 1-for-1 substitution. https://www.davidlebovitz.com/why-and-when-to-use-or-not-use-c/

      Reply
  45. Cari says

    July 21, 2020 at 12:25 pm

    I don’t really live in the back of beyond on Mars, but have great difficulty in obtaining Icing Sugar. (re-phrase, have found one packet in supermarket in 17 years….).

    Can I use only castor sugar to make marzipan. Have tried grounding C/sugar in the past for other recipes that ask for I/sugar however feels as though am eating directly off my land ( gritty). Thankyou.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      July 28, 2020 at 6:04 pm

      Cari, The recipe calls for store-bought (ready made) confectioners or powdered sugar, called icing sugar in other English-speaking countries such as Canada and England, but you can make it at home if you can’t find it in the store. One recipe I found simply calls for grinding up granulated (castor) sugar in a high powered blender https://cookieandkate.com/how-to-make-powdered-sugar/, while others call for adding cornstarch to the sugar https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/how-to-make-powdered-sugar/. Either way, you need to grind the sugar up well, until it becomes powdery.

      Reply
  46. Kat M says

    September 3, 2021 at 11:58 am

    5 stars
    After looking at many marzipan recipes online, I chose this one. The freezer bag idea had me at hello! I added the water in 1/2 tablespoon increments as suggested, which was also very helpful. Many recipes call for an egg white, which is traditional, but that didn’t seem necessary if water will do. I ended up using 1 1/2 tablespoons, but will still add in increments in the future. I also don’t have a food processor so the suggestion to use a whisk was also perfect for me. The end result was awesome. Later today, I’m making orange zest-dried cranberry-marzipan soda bread. I can’t wait to see how it turns out! Thank you for posting this recipe.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      September 15, 2021 at 12:08 pm

      Kat, So glad you like this recipe . Wish I could get a piece of your soda bread – bet it’s delicious.

      Reply
  47. Carla says

    December 14, 2021 at 10:21 pm

    5 stars
    Yum! I couldn’t find marzipan in the stores this year, but had almond flour and icing sugar, so thought, why not? I substituted Amaretto for the almond extract: perfect!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      December 16, 2021 at 1:00 pm

      So glad I could help. Yes, this is a great way to beat supply chain problems when it comes to marzipan.

      Reply

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