[pinit]
Gluten free marzipan is not impossible to find, but it ain’t easy, either. And it’s riDICulously expensive! $8.95 for 11 ounces is not my idea of shoestring-friendly gluten free. But did you know how easy it was to make your very own marzipan in your very own kitchen? Well it’s not as easy as, say, not making it, but it’s easier than you think. Somewhere in the middle there, you find this gluten free marzipan recipe.
I thought about (okay, I tried for longer than I really had allocated to the task) to shape this marzipan into all sorts of adorable animals. I think marzipan fruit shapes are creepy but only because I have an unfortunate personal childhood history of marzipan fruit that spent way way WAY too long on display in my home. It does go bad. It DOES. Anyway, I gave up on the shapes as they weren’t gorgeous enough to do justice to this. Instead, I made easy truffles (cream + chocolate = truffles but if you’d like a recipe there’s one in my first gluten free cookbook page 235) and then wrapped them in the result of this marzipan recipe.
All you need is some sugar, water, 1 egg white and some blanched almond flour, then some confectioner’s sugar for kneading. You can use whole blanched almonds, and just get a result that is not nearly as smooth. But that’s neither here nor there, and entirely up to you. We’re going to cook sugar, but we did that for gluten free licorice, and then lived to tell about it. Right? I took plenty of step by step photos for you, but the idea is this: you cook the sugar to create a rich simple syrup. It has a very high sugar:water ratio, so when you cook it to 240°F (the so-called softball stage) and then whisk it as it cools, it becomes cloudy and appears to thicken. Then, all that’s left to do is to add the almond flour and egg white, cook again briefly over low heat, and then knead in confectioner’s sugar until the marzipan becomes smooth.
A small saucepan, whisk, cheap-o instant read candy thermometer and a bench scraper* are all the kitchen equipment you need to make marzipan. And it just takes a few minutes.
*You really should have a bench scraper or something like it. It is going to be essential in your life when Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread comes out November 2013.
I’ve shied away from baking too often with almond paste and marzipan as they’re such expensive ingredients. I am happy to report that I am officially over my shyness.
HELLO! I’m Nicole! I make gluten-free food enjoyable & affordable. If they can make it with gluten, we can make it without. That’s a promise!
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Marzipan…not gluten-free? WHAT? I like the idea of making it yourself but am sure that marzipan here in the Netherlands is GF
Marjan, I’m glad you are able to find affordable gluten free marzipan easily in the Netherlands. That is not the case here in the United States.
Nicole
Will this work with regular Gluten Free All Purpose Flour? Or only with Almond?
Marzipan is, at its very essence, almond paste with a an egg white as a binder. So it won’t work with all purpose gluten free flour, I’m afraid, Richard. I have other recipes in the gluten free confectionery category here on the blog. Maybe you’d prefer one of those?
xoxo Nicole
You just opened a new window in my world, Nicole! I make big GF cakes and Marzipan is great for all kinds of figures and decorations (when the client can eat almonds, that is). Thanks so much!
Excellent, Ligea! I know what you mean – it really opens up possibilities. :)
xoxo Nicole
so. I am not a fan of marzipan that you can buy – it just seems stale or something so I’m excited to try some fresh stuff. Could you use this to cover a cake? or is it too soft? can I punch things out of it with a sugar puncher (they were on mega clearance and I had to buy them) when rolled out?
AND!!! I’m excited to say i just got a scrapper because I see you use it all the time. So ready for this bread book! can’t wait!!
Hey Jennifer! You can definitely use this to cover a cake and to mold, etc. The more confectioner’s sugar you add, the stiffer it will get it. You can also add some cornstarch instead of all confectioner’s sugar so that it doesn’t get so sweet that it masks the almond taste. :)
xoxo Nicole