Marzipan Candy Figures Recipe
Marzipan Candy Figures Recipe - Marzipan is very popular here in Spain especially during the Christmas period, you will see the shops full of many different marzipan sweets and candy figures. This recipe is very simple and is perfect for children to make.
Ingredients
Almonds (250g or around 9 oz.)
Powdered sugar (210g or 7.5 oz.) or pulverize regular sugar in a food processor
1 Egg (Optional)
food processor
Method
Grind the almonds finely in a food processor or buy ready ground almonds. You want a fine enough grind to allow for a smooth marzipan, but don’t grind so far that the oils are released.
Combine the powdered sugar and ground almonds in a medium-sized bowl.
Separate the egg white from the yolk. If you are worried about using raw eggs, you can use a pasteurized egg white instead. This is often sold in the refrigerated section of supermarkets near the dairy.
Add the egg white to the almond and sugar mixture and stir until well combined. It’s easiest to use your hands to mash everything together into a workable dough.
You can either form the dough into shapes immediately or wrap the dough in parchment paper and refrigerate it for later. At this point, it also freezes well if you want to make it ahead of time before Christmas.
Form the dough either by pressing it into candy moulds or by shaping it yourself into whatever shapes you prefer. A simple idea is to form it into small log shapes and decorate it by forming lines across the top with your knife.
Place your marzipan figures on a baking sheet and paint them with the beaten egg yolk.
Place under a grill for a couple of minutes, until they start to brown on top. This is done to slightly harden the outside while keeping the center soft. Keep a close eye on them, and don’t leave the room for a few minutes You only want them to lightly brown on top.
Once cooled, you can serve them immediately or store them in an airtight container in the fridge for several days, up to a week. (They are at their best during the first couple of days after having made them.)
Tips
You can use other types of sugar like organic demerara sugar or coconut sugar, but the marzipan figures will be darker in colour and their flavour will change.
You can also optionally add in either almond extract or some amaretto to add flavour.
If you are worried about using raw eggs, you can use a pasteurized egg white instead.
If you don’t want to use egg whites, you could try using something like honey to bind the ingredients instead. That is what they use in some of the famous mazipane of Toledo. you could also substitute the egg yolk wash with either oil, almond milk, butter or cream.
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