Marzipan

In Tuesday's Candies & Confectionaries class, Chef did a full class period of lecture and demonstration on marzipan. He gave a history on marzipan and detail on its production. In general, marzipan is made from almond paste and sugar, and is used in different applications. It can be rolled like tart dough and used as a layer between cakes; it can be rolled and formed into various shapes. It is most often seen rolled into various shapes - commonly fruit and vegetables. It has a delicious almond flavor and a wonderful texture.

Over the next two weeks in class, I will have the task to create two centerpieces out of marzipan - one highlighting fruits and one highlighting animals. Chef spent some time showing us how to decorate the sides and top of a cake using colored marzipan. He then demonstrated some piping with royal icing before demonstrating the different types of fruits we can choose to make. Here is a picture of the fruits after rolling:



He next demonstrated how to color the fruit realistically using a spray gun and food coloring:



He finished this portion of class by putting together his display cake:



He next demonstrated a variety of animals:



Next week, my goal is to complete my fruit display, which includes creating the base and covering it in marzipan. I next have to create and color something like 12-17 fruits to display in order to create my centerpiece. I haven't worked much with marzipan, so this will be experimenting and learning on the go at its finest. I'm looking forward to it, and looking forward to seeing what I can come up with. I'm going to focus on the fruit first, and then move on to the animals; I have some cool ideas for that project so we'll see if I can put my thoughts into action. More on this in the future.