What’s the Difference Between Marzipan and Almond Paste? (2024)

FAQs

What’s the Difference Between Marzipan and Almond Paste? ›

The Main Differences

Almond paste has twice the amount of almonds in it compared to marzipan, making it coarser in texture and less sweet than its counterpart. Their consistency also differs as marzipan is smooth and pliable, almost clay-like, while almond paste is somewhat gritty and spreadable, almost like a cookie dough.

You can use store-bought almond paste to make marzipan but you cannot make almond paste from marzipan. In a pinch, you can substitute marzipan for almond paste, but be sure to reduce the amount of sugar called for in the recipe because marzipan is sweeter than almond paste.

The almond paste and almond filling are very different products and should not be used interchangeably in a recipe. The Almond Filling is a jam-like filling for cakes, pastries, and cookies. The Almond Paste is usually mixed or cut into a recipe for an almond flavor, or as a layer in tarts and pies.

For a quick and dirty solution, almond paste can substitute marzipan in a pinch. In this case, you will need to adjust the sugar in your recipe to make up for the loss of sweetness between almond paste and marzipan.

Don't worry about the raw egg white; the paste will be used in baking, not eaten raw. Almond Extract: For even more almond flavor, be sure to add almond extract to the paste.

Many recipes for homemade almond paste call for egg white. Because almond paste is not consumed raw and is always baked at temperatures above 150 degrees F (65 degrees C) where the salmonella bacteria are killed, using egg white is less of a concern in almond paste than in marzipan.

Also called almond candy dough, marzipan is an agreeable, multi-purpose combo of the first two, with a subtle almond flavor and unmatched malleability. Be sure to try these marzipan cake recipes.

Compared to almond paste, marzipan has a smooth, pliable texture. It tastes different, too: marzipan has more sugar and fewer almonds than almond paste, so it has a sweeter, less intense flavor.

Lots of Italian cookies call for almond paste to get that chewy, super-nutty flavor. If you've ever eaten a slivered almond-topped pasticcini or pignoli, you've eaten a cookie made with almond paste. Many cookies that call for almond paste don't call for flour, making them gluten-free.

Can you eat almond paste by itself? ›

Marzipan has a more solid form and is used on cakes and to create shapes. You can eat marzipan by itself, the same is not true for almond paste.

Occasionally I end up with a sugar or almond paste "rock." In lieu of tossing it, I have softened it by adding a piece of bread for a day or two, in an airtight container. The moisture in the bread returns the original texture of the item.

1 Because marzipan is based on almonds, it is a sufficient content of vitamin E, in fact, as in the walnut. This vitamin in nature is a very powerful antioxidant and helps to fight stress and nervous tension.

However, marzipan isn't especially popular in North America. It's not that we don't like it—because unless you have a nut allergy, who wouldn't like marzipan? —it's just that we don't eat it much. Often, we just sell it as an ingredient called “almond paste,” which strikes me as functional and lacking in romance.

The German name 'marzipan' has supplanted the original English name 'marchpane. ' Some theorise that it originally comes from the Latin 'martius panis', or 'March bread'. Others cite Arabic, Burmese, or Persian as the language of origin.

Almond paste is a flavorful spread made from ground blanched almonds, sugar, and egg whites. The sweet paste appears in a variety of baked goods, whether folded into pastries and almond cakes as almond cream; breakfast fare like bear claws, almond croissants, and waffles; or enjoyed on its own as marzipan candy.

If you're wondering what is almond paste, it's made from almonds, sugar, almond extract and corn syrup or glucose. That's it: the ingredients in almond paste are very simple. You can make it yourself or purchase it at your local store. However, if you opt to buy it check the label first.

Marzipan comes from nuts—it's traditionally made with ground almonds. In order to maintain quality standards, many countries regulate the percentage of almonds a recipe must have for it to be legally called "marzipan." This discourages the use of apricot kernels as a cheap substitute for almonds.