Italian marzipan recipe with almond paste and no eggs. Get the almond flour marzipan recipe for your cookies and cakes!

marzipan recipe the Italian way
marzipan recipe

WHAT IS MARZIPAN

Marzipan is an almond paste used in Italian (and German) patisserie for covering cakes and giving flavor to sweets and desserts (Sicilian cassata, wedding cakes, etc.), or as a treat itself, when shaped into fruits (Sicilian “frutta martorana”), or lambs for Easter.

This eggless Italian marzipan recipe is made with almonds (blend into almond flour), sugar, and water.

marzipan recipe from Italy
marzipan recipe without eggs

HOW TO OSE MARZIPAN

As for covering cakes, marzipan is different from fondant, which is usually made with sugar, gelatin, and fats. Marzipan is also different from frangipane, which is also made with almonds but mixed to pastry cream.

You can make this marzipan paste recipe ahead of time, wrap it in plastic and place it in a plastic bag (two layers, or it will dry), and refrigerate it up to 15-20 days. You can also freeze marzipan up to 6 months.

the last cookbooks

VENICE

The city of Opulence.

FLORENCE

The city of Renaissance.

MATERA

The city of Sassi.

HOW TO MAKE COLORED MARZIPAN

If you are making marzipan to decorate a cake or a dessert, follow the instructions and add the food coloring of your choice when kneading. Start with a drop or two and work it enough for it to color the whole surface (it does take a while). You can use cookie cutters to shape it!

The quantities in this recipe are enough to cover a medium sized cake.

Italian marzipan recipe

Course Dessert
Cuisine Italian
Author Claudia Rinaldi

Ingredients

  • 2 oz water 64 ml or 1/4 cup + 1 teaspoon
  • 8.8 oz peeled almonds 250 gr or 1 + 1/2 + 1/4 cup
  • 8.8 oz white sugar 250 gr or 2 + 1/4 cup
  • a few drops of vanilla essence
  • natural food coloring (optional)
  • a marble or other heat resistant (not wood) working surface

Instructions

  1. Blend almonds until floury.
  2. Place sugar and water in a medium/small pot and bring them to a boil, cook until when you dip a spoon inside the mixture, and you pull it out, the drops that fall stretch a bit before falling back into the pot.
  3. Remove from heat, add the almond meal and the vanilla extract, and mix to incorporate.
  4. Wet the working surface with your hands and pour the mixture over it.
  5. Wait till temperature decreases enough (careful, I got burned!) to work it with your hands. Give it at least 30-40 minutes.
  6. Knead the mixture with wet hands (wet them again if you feel like the dough is too dry) for about 5 minutes.
  7. This is when you can add the food coloring to change the dough color: add a few drops, work it at least for a minute and add more coloring if necessary, until you get the desired color.
  8. Roll out the marzipan and shape it or cut it out as per your needs.
  9. If not, form a ball, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate.

FROM THE ITALIAN COLORS NEWSLETTER:

“Five things Romans eat on Easter:

  1. Pizza Cresciuta (leavened): not a pizza, though. This is a savory bread, made with lots of eggs and a long rising time.

  2. Boiled eggs: a lot!

  3. Chocolate Eggs: to crush and get the surprise inside. Dark, milk or white chocolate, plain or flavored, with or without nuts and other greedy stuff. The majority buy chocolate eggs at the supermarket; gourmands carefully select their eggs between many artisanal specialties; and creatives go to chocolateries, where you can bring your own special surprise and have the two egg halves sealed at the moment. Me? I have silicone molds waiting to be filled.

  4. Corallina salami: a local pork shoulder salami made especially for Easter time.

  5. Artichokes frittata…”

a cake to cover with marzipan

sponge cake recipe from Italy #gourmetproject

pan di Spagna: the Italian sponge cake

Enjoy your marzipan and all the delicious treats you’ll use it for!

Claudia