Marzipan
It’s almost Sinterklaas, which means it is time for another Dutch holiday recipe, marzipan!
Okay, it’s not authentic Dutch food, since it has been around for many centuries and no one really knows who invented it first.
In The Netherlands it is mainly used as a fruit, vegetable or pig-shaped candy given to children during the Sinterklaas festivities and is one of those things you either love or hate. It is also used to cover cakes and other confectioneries. Back in the middle ages it was very common for a man to buy his sweetheart a heart of marzipan or gingerbread to show his love, or a “taaiman” to give the exact opposite message..
Ingredients
- 250gr peeled almonds or almond flour
- 250gr icing sugar
- 1 (pasteurized) egg white (about 40-45gr)
- (natural) food dye
- 2-3 drops of orange blossom water (optional)
Remove almond skins first! They are very bitter. Sift icing sugar into the food processor, add almonds and pulverize. Sift this into a bowl and add the egg white and orange blossom water. Knead this into a ball and add more sugar when too wet or more egg white when too dry.
Now you can add the food coloring of your choosing. I decided to use natural food coloring instead of artificial. It’s not as brightly coloured as it would be with artificial colours, but it still looks nice and you know exactly what’s in your food.
In the center is the uncoloured marzipan, the yellow is stained with turmeric powder, red with beetroot powder, green with spirulina powder and brown with cocoa powder. You can add as much or as little as you want, but keep in mind that these will also slightly alter the flavour.
And there you have it! Your very own, home made marzipan to use on cakes, cupcakes, petit fours or simply eat it as candy. If you don’t want to use raw eggs and don’t have access to pasteurized egg whites like I do, or if you want a vegan version, simply use either of these:
- 1 tbsp agar powder with 1 tbsp cold water (vegan)
OR
- 1 tbsp gelatin with 3 tablespoons warm water
Happy Baking!
