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This Easy Homemade Marzipan will take your baking to the next level! It’s a quick and simple recipe that will bring delicious almond flavor to your cakes and cookies. It’s also easily colored and shaped into fun decorations!

Sliced marzipan on a table.

Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Easy to Make: It takes 10 minutes to make, and then you need to give it an hour to chill in the fridge before it’s ready to be used.
  • No Raw Eggs: Some people use eggs and corn syrup, but my recipe doesn’t. If you don’t feel comfortable working with raw eggs, then this recipe is for you!
  • Versatile: It is a versatile ingredient that is fun to play with. It is used often in Germany, and one recipe that I love making that calls for marzipan is stollen bread.

What is Marzipan?

If you had to ask this question, you are not alone! The first time I’d ever even heard of marzipan was on a baking show on television! It’s basically a sweetened almond paste dough. Blend almonds, sugar, and water in a food processor until smooth. You can mostly use it to add flavor to baked goods, but you can also color it and use it as decoration, like fondant.

Ingredients

This homemade marzipan recipe is easy and vegan-friendly, keeping things simple and delicious. Instead of blanched almonds and raw egg whites, use fine almond flour and powdered sugar, or swap in maple syrup for sweetness. Check the recipe card below for exact measurements.

  • Fine Almond Flour: You should be able to find this in the special flour section at the grocery store.
  • Powdered Sugar: This is how you sweeten your marzipan while keeping a really smooth texture.
  • Water: This helps to bring all of the ingredients together.
  • Almond Extract: This adds extra almond flavor and tastes like the traditional marzipan recipe.
  • Rose Water: This is optional. I really like it, but it’s not for everyone!
Process photos showing the ingredients added to the food processor, then kneading the dough and shaping into a log.

Marzipan Recipe

This homemade marzipan is perfect for the holidays. It’s exactly what you need for your Christmas cake! It’s also amazing for marzipan cookies or for covering your cake. Some people choose to eat it as is with apricot jam! However you choose to use it, you’ll love how simple this recipe is.

  1. Add Dry Ingredients: Add almond flour and powdered sugar to a food processor and pulse until combined into a fine powder.
  2. Add Wet Ingredients: If desired, add the water, almond extract, and rose water. Mix until everything comes together into one big ball. If the mixture is still sticky enough to stick to your fingers, add more almond flour and powdered sugar, one tablespoon each at a time, until it is not sticky enough to stick to your hands.
  3. Knead: Remove to a clean surface and knead for a minute or two until smooth. Roll it into a log and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for an hour before using.
A picture of a log of marzipan.

Tips for Making Homemade Marzipan

Marzipan is a really simple way to take your desserts to the next level. It takes ten minutes to make and will take an hour to chill. If you travel to Europe, you will see a lot of marzipan desserts! Here are a few tips for making your own at home.

  • Sifting Ingredients: No need to sift the powdered sugar or almond flour as they will be mixed together in the food processor, eliminating any clumps.
  • Almond Flavor: I always recommend tasting your recipe to see if you need to add anything.ย If you want more almond flavor, add more almond extract. If you don’t love the fan of almond extract flavor, then you can add less or leave it all out together.
  • Using Marzipan: If this is your first time using Marzipan, I will look up some recipes online! Marzipan can be used to make candies, fill pastries, or even rolled out to cover cakes or pastries. People use it like a fondant to cover a cake with a nice smooth finish.
A close up on marzipan.

Storing Leftovers

Marzipan is easy to store in the refrigerator or the freezer. It tastes best when it’s fresh, but I’ve pulled it out of the freezer, and it still has great flavor and texture.

  • Fridge Store in the fridge wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to two weeks.ย 
  • Freezer: Store in the freezer by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and then in a ziplock bag for up to two months.

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Marzipan

5 from 1 vote
By: Alyssa Rivers
This Easy Homemade Marzipan will take your baking to the next level! It's a quick and simple recipe that will bring delicious almond flavor to your cakes and cookies. It's also easily colored and shaped into fun decorations!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 2 Cups

Ingredients 

  • 2 ยผ cups fine almond flour
  • 1 ยพ cup powdered sugar
  • ยผ cup water
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • ยผ teaspoon food grade rose water optional

Instructions 

  • Add almond flour and powdered sugar to a food processor and pulse until combined into a fine powder.
  • Add the water, almond extract, and rose water if desired. Mix until everything comes together into one big ball. If the mixture is still sticky enough to stick to your fingers, add more almond flour and powdered sugar 1 tablespoon of each at a time until not sticky enough to stick to your hands.
  • Remove to a clean surface and knead for a minute or two until smooth. Roll into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the fridge for an hour before using.

Nutrition

Calories: 1132kcalCarbohydrates: 132gProtein: 27gFat: 62gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 8mgFiber: 13gSugar: 108gCalcium: 267mgIron: 5mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: European
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!

About Alyssa Rivers

Alyssa Rivers is the author of 'The Tried and True Cookbook', a professional food photographer and experienced recipe-developer. Having a passion for cooking, her tried and true recipes have been featured on Good Morning America, Today Food, Buzzfeed and more.

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Recipe Rating




2 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Excellent instructions, tips, and recipe. I made it yesterday (as part of an apple crisp) and it was easy-peasy. As I’m still recovering my taste buds from Covid, I added a smidgen of vanilla extract and a tiny pinch of self. That really made the flavor pop (for me, anyway).

    The taste is fabulous. I HAD to freeze the remainder because it taste so good.

    Thank you!

  2. a nice alternative to traditional flour-baking, and appreciate the details since I’m not well versed in marzipan at all, so thank you!