Homemade marzipan

Homemade marzipan

30 min
Making marzipan at home is not difficult, takes very little time, and requires only water, sugar, and almonds. Marzipan made from scratch has a beautiful, sweet almond flavour and a soft buttery texture. Try our recipe and make your own marzipan next time you need it for pastries, cakes, and confections.
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Instructions

  • Bring water and sugar to a boil. Boil until the sugar has dissolved as you stir. Let it cool to room temperature.
  • Transfer the peeled almonds to a food processor and blitz them for around 5 minutes. Stop a few times to scrape the sides and bottom of the food processor. Keep going until the ground almonds look like flour.
  • Add about 4 tbsp of the cooled sugar syrup to the almonds little by little as you continue to run the food processor.
  • The marzipan should just begin to combine properly – feel it to assess the texture. It should be moist but not too sticky. You may need to adjust the consistency by using a bit more sugar syrup.
  • Take the almond paste out of the food processor and knead it for about 30 seconds before rolling it into a log or ball. Wrap the homemade marzipan tightly in cling film and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use or use it straight away.
Enjoy!
Tips

Blanching and skinning almonds to make homemade marzipan does not have to be a hassle. Place the almonds in a saucepan with boiling water and boil them for about 1 minute before transferring them to a bowl filled with ice-cold water. When the almonds have cooled enough to handle, remove them from the water and pop the skin right off.

Questions about homemade marzipan

Making your own marzipan to use for cakes, confections, or as a sweet treat is easy with our recipe. Continue reading to learn more about homemade marzipan so you can start making this delicious sweet and sticky confection.

What is marzipan?
Marzipan is the name of an almond-based confection made by combining ground, peeled almonds with sugar syrup until it forms an almond paste. Though marzipan originated in the Orient, it is popular across the globe, especially around the holidays. It is often used in confections, cakes, and other baked goods but the sweet-tasting treat may also be enjoyed on its own.
How do you make homemade marzipan?
Making homemade marzipan to use for delicious cakes and confections is quite easy. After peeling the almonds, prepare a sugar syrup by combining boiling water and sugar. As your syrup cools, blitz the peeled almonds until they have a flour-like texture. Combine this homemade almond flour with the sugar syrup in your food processor until you have a moist almond paste. Wrap your marzipan in cling film and cool it in the refrigerator to make it easier to use for confections, pastries, and the like.
How long does homemade marzipan last?
Stored in the refrigerator, homemade marzipan has quite a long shelf life and may last up to 4-5 weeks. Make sure to wrap your marzipan in cling film and place it in an airtight bag or container to retain its moisture. Marzipan, whether homemade or store-bought, naturally dries out and becomes brittle over time and, as such, it may be better to freeze it if you do not see yourself using it in the month to come.
Can you freeze homemade marzipan?
Homemade marzipan freezes very well. Simply make sure to wrap it well in a layer of cling film so no air can get in to dry out the almond paste. Store the wrapped marzipan log or balls in freezer bags or an airtight container for further protection. Homemade marzipan will last for up to 6 months in the freezer. As such, you can make homemade marzipan ahead of time, freeze it, and thaw it for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator before using it.

Ingredients

Water
100 ml
Sugar or cane sugar (approx. 1 dl)
85 g
Cooled, peeled almonds
200 g

Easy homemade marzipan

The well-known almond confection known as marzipan is loved and enjoyed by many – especially around the holidays – for its sweet flavour and delicious stickiness. And if you love the store-bought version, the homemade kind will make you fall head over heels.

It is a delightful, sweet treat that may be enjoyed as it is or used to decorate cakes, fill pastries, or prepare delicious confections with nougat, chocolate, praline, nuts, candied fruit, and so on.

Sweet almond flavour and delightfully sticky

Our homemade marzipan recipe yields a delicious confection that differs from the kind you can buy at the store. The natural flavours of the almonds are more pronounced, meaning you get marzipan with plenty of sweet, nutty, and earthy flavours. Homemade marzipan is also moister and butterier in texture than most of the marzipan you can buy. As such, making your own from scratch is well worth the time.

Delicious homemade marzipan sweets

Homemade marzipan has many uses. Like marshmallow fondant, it may be used to make cake decorations and cover cakes by rolling it out and draping it over the surface of the cake to turn even a simple cake into a work of art.

Marzipan may also be used as a sweet filling in cakes, pies, and pastries like croissants. For use in tarts, see our recipe for plum tart with sour plums and sweet marzipan. You can, of course, also use the nutty, homemade marzipan to make confections like truffles or rocky road.

Add your own touch

It is fun and easy to experiment with homemade marzipan recipes by adding different flavours and colours. When flavouring your homemade marzipan, the sky is the limit as its natural almond flavour pairs well with a range of different flavours.

As such, one option is to take your marzipan in a floral direction by experimenting with adding liquids such as rose water, orange blossom water, and vanilla extract to your sugar syrup. Another option is to make a more adult twist to the homemade confection by flavouring it with an alcoholic beverage like sherry, rum, or amaretto.

While you may of course use food colouring to give the sweet almond paste different vibrant colours, you can also use flavourful ingredients with colouring properties. 

You could, for instance, make an elegant and dark cocoa marzipan by adding cocoa powder, a fun, green one by replacing 1⁄3 of the almonds with pistachios, or a romantic, pink marzipan by adding ground freeze-dried raspberries. Doing so will give you either a rich and indulgent chocolate marzipan, a nutty sweet pistachio marzipan, or a sweet and fruity raspberry marzipan.