Homemade German Marzipan (Marzipanrohmasse)

Homemade marzipan is easier to make than you may think. Forget about expensive imports and follow this easy German marzipan recipe. All you need is almonds, powdered sugar and flavorings such as almond and vanilla extract (affiliate link) and rosewater (affiliate link).

What is Marzipan

Marzipan is a confect that consists of ground almonds, sugar, and depending on its origin, flavors. It is used to make candy but is also an important ingredient in baking recipes such as German Stollen, Bethmännchen, or marzipan cookies.

What is Marzipanrohmasse?

In Germany, the almond paste that forms the base for refined marzipan confect is called Marzipanrohmasse. It translates as raw marzipan mass. This marzipan paste has a lower sugar content than refined marzipan which means it is more suited for baking, as it holds its shape better.

For making marzipan figures or pralines, you add more sugar to the paste. This makes it easier to mold and shape. For American's describing Marzipanrohmasse as German marzipan paste might make more sense.

Origin

Marzipan probably originated in Persia, what is today Iran. The Arabs brought it from Persia via Spain to Europe. "Mazapán de Toledo" is still one of the most famous kinds of marzipans today.

According to a popular legend, marzipan was invented in the north German town of Lübeck in 1407. The town's grain reserves were depleted, so the administration requested that a baker should bake bread made from almonds and sugar. So he made "marzipan bread". The story is not very credible, as sugar at the time was very expensive. However, Lübeck is now associated with bringing marzipan to the masses, as in the 19th century, they replaced sugar with beet syrup, thus making it slightly cheaper and thus slightly more accessible. Still, until the 20th century, marzipan was almost exclusively a delicacy for the rich [source Wikipedia].

Is marzipan a Christmas tradition?

The ingredients for marzipan- sugar and almonds used to be very expensive in previous centuries. So people traditionally only treated themselves during the festive days to this delicacy. In Germany, marzipan is especially popular during advent and easter.

How does German marzipan differ from other marzipan

Germany has very strict guidelines on the sugar-to-almond ratio for a product to be called marzipan. For example, according to German guidelines marzipan paste has to consist of around 48% almonds and 35% sugar. Liquids should not be more than 17%. In marzipan abroad, I found higher sugar-to-almond ratios.

Lübecker Marzipan has at least 70% almonds, whereas Lübecker Edelmarzipan (Fine Marzipan) has even 90% almond content. [Source: Lebensmittelklarheit.de]

The quality of the marzipan is determined by the quality of the almonds and other ingredients.

Famous German Marzipan Candy

The most popular German marzipan types are Lübeker Marzipan and Königsberger Marzipan. Lübeker Marzipan is protected and can only be called "Lübeker Marzipan" if it is produced in Lübeck. Königsberg is a Prussian town, that today lies in Russia, called Kaliningrad. It is not a protected name and thus can be produced anywhere.

The main difference between Lübeker Marzipan and Königsberger Marzipan is that Lübeker marzipan is produced from raw almond paste, whereas Königsberger marzipan is made from roasted almond paste.

About this recipe

This marzipan recipe is meant to mirror the taste of the Marzipanrohmasse that you can buy in Germany. I feel this may give the best results when trying to recreate German recipes. I have experimented a lot with adding different extracts, and I find that the almond flavour in marzipan is stronger than that of rosewater (affiliate link).

Apart from taste-testing the marzipan here, I have also used this documentary about Lübeker Marzipan on the German Marzipan manufacturer Niederegger, which is available on YouTube.

Here I found some great guidelines in which to measure your marzipan:

• Marzipan needs to have the right consistency. You should still experience the almonds inside the paste, so it is not allowed to be ground too fine.
• the almond flavor needs to be present and not get overpowered by other flavors
• it should not be too sweet and overbearing to taste.
• it needs to have the right balance between dryness and softness.

I find it difficult to convey all these characteristics when describing a recipe. Marzipan production means following your intuition to find the right balance between flavors, texture, and color. Also, a lot depends on the quality of your ingredients.

The Niederegger documentary had an additional step in their marzipan production that I was unable to successfully reproduce at home. They roast their marzipan paste in copper pots at a high temperature to get a roasted almond flavor. Then they quickly cool the marzipan (as it is easy to burn) using dry ice.

I attempted to roast my mass on high heat in a frying pan, and then cool it in metal bowls, but I found that my mass became too dry although the almond flavor was more intense.

How to make Marzipan

Ingredients:

• almonds - use raw sweet almonds, blanched ground almonds (affiliate link), or almond flour. In German marzipan, you traditionally a mixture of sweet and bitter almonds. However, whereas sweet almonds are deemed safe to eat, bitter almonds are poisonous and need to be treated to be safe. So just use sweet almonds [source: healthline] -
• icing /confectioner sugar
• rosewater (affiliate link) is made from water-infused rose petals. I find the flavor quite strong, and if you use too much some might say it has a "soapy" taste to it. For me, a hint of rosewater (affiliate link) is a must, without it overpowering the flavor.
• almond extract (affiliate link) - the almond flavor for me is the predominant flavor in marzipan. As almond extract (affiliate link) is made from bitter almonds, it makes up for us not using bitter almonds in our recipe.
• vanilla extract (affiliate link) - just a hint rounds of the marzipan well and adds some sweet buttery flavor.

Marzipan Recipe Step-by-Step

1. If using whole almonds, put the almonds in a saucepan and add enough water to cover the almonds. Bring the water to a boil for no longer than 2 minutes. Then quickly strain the almonds. You will find that the skin just slips off. Dry the almonds on some kitchen paper.
2. Add the ground almonds (affiliate link) into your food processor and grind them until fine.
3. Place the ground almonds (affiliate link) and powdered sugar on your work surface and mix them. Add the almond and vanilla extract (affiliate link) and rosewater (affiliate link) and knead. I always have a little bowl of water by the side, because it is impossible to exactly tell how much liquid you need. It depends on how fresh your almonds are, also freshly ground almonds (affiliate link) will have more liquid than pre-ground almonds (affiliate link). Add the water in little portions - teaspoon by teaspoon as needed. If you find your paste becomes too wet, you can add a little more powdered sugar.
4. Knead all of the ingredients by hand until you achieve a smooth dough. Try not to knead the dough for too long, as the oil from the almonds will escape and this makes the marzipan too dry.
5. You can eat the marzipan straight away or wrap it in clingfilm and store it in the fridge. As this is the basic marzipan paste, for most recipes you will add more sugar to the paste. Adding more powdered sugar will make the dough more elastic and smoother, which makes it easier to form and shape.

Recipe Variations

There are many variations on how to make marzipan. It depends on your own taste

• instead of rosewater (affiliate link) use orange blossom.
• add vanilla sugar or vanilla extract (affiliate link) to your marzipan for fuller flavor.
• add a little salt to your marzipan paste to contrast the sweetness.
• make marzipan without sugar by replacing the sugar with honey or any other sugar replacement.
• add liqueur such as amaretto (affiliate link), rum, or orange liqueur (affiliate link) to flavor your paste

How to use marzipan

Marzipan has many uses. As it is, it is ready to consume without having to be processed further. However, marzipan has many wonderful uses, here are a few of them:

• for decorating cakes - you can use it in a similar way to fondant and make edible decorations - check out the carrots on this Swiss carrot cake, made from colored marzipan.
• for covering cakes - roll the marzipan out thinly and cover a cake with it. For example British Christmas Cakes.
• for baking - they can be used in cookies, cakes, or even yeast bread, like this German Easter Bread
• as candy - you can just roll them into balls and dust them with cocoa powder. Now you have Marzipankartoffeln (marzipan potatoes) that are eaten in Germany during Christmas.
• You can dip them into chocolate and make your own marzipan pralines.

German Recipes using marzipan

Storage instructions

Store your marzipan airtight and keep it in the fridge. I usually wrap it in cling film. This way it will last up to three weeks.

To make the marzipan soft again you can gently warm it up in the microwave for 30 seconds at 400 Watts.

It is also possible to freeze homemade marzipan. However, the longer you freeze it the more it loses its flavor. So do not freeze it for too long.

More Homemade German Christmas Essentials

Recipe