Tag: icing sugar

Marzipan with cognac

Completed marzipan logs on a trayThis marzipan is super easy and quick. The ratio of almond meal to sugar is 4:1 so it’s not sickly. There’s not a candy thermometer in sight, nor is there any liquid glucose.

It’s vegan if you use vegan chocolate.

Ingredients

400 g almond meal
100 g pure icing sugar
1 lemon, juiced*
1/3 cup boiling water*
1 tsp almond essence*
Cognac to taste. I use more than 30 ml but less than 60 ml.
150 g melted dark chocolate (I’ve used Lindt dark chocolate with almond flakes, but you can use any chocolate you prefer.)

*The liquid you make up for one recipe actually does a double batch with some to spare.

How to

  1. Empty the almond meal into a large bowl. Run your fingers through it to break down any clumps.P1000069
  2. Sieve icing sugar into the almond meal and mix it through with your hands.
  3. Mix boiling water, lemon juice and almond essence in a cup.
  4. Add a few tablespoons of the water mix to the dry ingredients and stir it through with a spoon. Keep adding water little-by-little until the mixture starts to come together. It becomes wet very quickly so if you want to add cognac, make sure the mix is crumbly – not a dough – but still beginning to stick together.

    The end goal is to mix it into a pliable ball that you can cut into eighths and roll into logs with your hands. It becomes wet very quickly, so add the water mix a little at a time.

  5. If you’re adding cognac, do it now, then put your hands into the bowl to mix it into a ball.
    Marzipan ball on a board with icing sugar, ready to be divided up and rolled into logs
  6. Dust a large wooden board or your bench top with icing sugar and place the marzipan ball onto the surface. Cut it into four, and then four again.
    Marzipan logs cut, ready for rolling
  7. Roll each portion into a log. You might find it useful to have a bowl of water on hand. When your hands get sticky, a bit of water on your hands helps when forming the logs. Dust more icing sugar onto your surface and onto the marzipan as you need to.
    Rolled marzipan logs, ready to be coated in chocolate
  8. Melt chocolate. I use a large plate with slightly raised sides over a small pot of boiling water. The larger the plate, the easier it will be to coat the marzipan.
    Melting chocolate on a plate, over a pot of hot water that’s on the stove
  9. Place baking paper onto a flat oven tray.
  10. Coat marzipan logs, one-by-one, by rolling them in the melted chocolate. Guide them using two butter knives. Transfer the covered marzipan to the tray.
    Marzipan logs coated with chocolate, drying on baking paper
  11. Let the chocolate set then bag up the spoils, or chop a log into slices and serve it with some decent coffee. Enjoy!

    The end product

    The end product