Homemade Chocolate Marzipan Recipe

Chocolate and marzipan are always a perfect combination. This simple and easy recipe makes delicious homemade chocolate marzipan in less than 5 minutes. Use it to make sweets, such as bars and truffles for holidays, Easter eggs, and bunnies. They also make perfect holiday gift ideas.

Do you love marzipan? Or perhaps you know it as an almond paste. Both are similar and so simple to make.

Most people buy marzipan or almond paste because they presume it's challenging to make. And yet, in reality, this delicious confection takes really only 5 minutes to make.

As I mentioned previously, I grew up with my mom making homemade marzipan by the buckets. She would take orders for these during festive seasons like Easter and Christmas.

About homemade marzipan

• Marzipan can be eaten on its own and needs nothing else with it. It is also often used to mold into fruits during festive seasons like Christmas.
• Marzipan Easter Eggs are a trendy treat during Easter celebrations.
• I love making Marzipan truffles, marzipan chocolate balls, as well as my marzipan chocolate squares to give as gifts during the holidays.
• You can also add marzipan in cake batters for a marzipan cake. I also love using marzipan in croissants.
• Custom decorated cake - covering a cake with marzipan
  • Traditionally, marzipan has been used to cover fruit cakes. For example, I used marzipan to make a 77th Birthday celebration using my homemade fruitcake recipe.
  • Also, marzipan cakes are usually covered with royal icing or rolled fondant. I have covered the cake below with my homemade fondant recipe from scratch, and yet you can use any of my other homemade fondant recipes.

Marzipan Easter Eggs are a trendy treat during Easter celebrations. I love making Marzipan truffles, marzipan chocolate balls, as well as my marzipan chocolate squares to give as gifts during the holidays.
You can also add marzipan in cake batters for a marzipan cake. I also love using marzipan in croissants.

Ingredient and substitutes

• Almonds/Nuts - Marzipan is traditionally made with almonds. And yet, you can make it with any nuts.
  I grew up eating cashew nut marzipan because that's what mom always made. Back home in India cashews are more affordable than almonds. So, often cashews are used in marzipan.
  I also make pecan marzipan because my husband likes pecans. You can buy almond meal or make homemade almond meal
• Powdered sugar - Also called icing sugar or confectioners sugar.  This has an anti-caking agent such as cornstarch or potato starch. Which helps combine the ingredients and make a smooth ball. You can make powdered sugar at home. And make sure you add some anti-caking agent to the mix as well.
• Cocoa powder - I use dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder. This also helps cut down some of the sweetness.
• Extract - I love using the rose extract in my marzipan, and yet traditionally almond extract is used. Vanilla works also great. You can also try Belgium chocolate extract or Irish cream extract.
• Liquid - Traditionally beaten egg whites were used. The purpose of the fluid is mainly to bind the dry ingredients. So, sugar syrup or water works just as well. I prefer water to prevent making the marzipan too sweet.

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Step by step instructions (pin)

• In a food processor - add almond meal, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. Pulse until smooth - a minute or two
  Pro tip - How smooth you grind the almonds will determine the texture of your marzipan. Adding powdered sugar to the food processor prevents the almonds from releasing oil.
• Transfer to a bowl. Add the light corn syrup, almond, and vanilla extract. Combine well
• Bring it all together into a ball - if necessary add one or two tablespoons of water or sugar syrup
  Pro tip - if you plan to keep the marzipan longer than a week, use sugar syrup, not water.
• Lightly knead on a work surface until you have a smooth ball that's all brown
  Pro tip - kneading will help achieve an even color. But, over kneading will cause the almonds to give out oil and that can make the marzipan oily
• Wrap in plastic wrap and store until ready to use.
  Pro tip - marzipan must be wrapped well in plastic or it can dry out easily. When ready to use lightly knead to make it pliable again.

Tips - marzipan

• Pulse the almonds meal and sugar some more. We do this to ensure the almonds are fine ground powder not grainy. This makes for a much smoother paste, especially when you need to use marzipan to cover cakes or to make Easter eggs.
• Water vs. sugar syrup - Water is preferable when you are not going to keep the marzipan for an extended period, which usually is the case with me. And if you plan to make this for sale or to keep it for more than ten days - I highly recommend using sugar syrup. Simple syrup or sugar syrup is just 1 part sugar and 3 parts water boiled for a few minutes and cooled. 
• Why test - It is easy to end up with too much liquid in the marzipan, resulting in a gloppy mess. So it's best to be safe and add a tablespoon at a time. And only adding enough so you can form a dough.
• Why do we knead for only 30 seconds and not more - Nuts give out oil when you squeeze the paste. While we do need the mixture to be smooth, we do not want an oily mess in our hands. We want the oils to stay in the nut paste. Since oily marzipan is very difficult to work. It's still delicious, and yet can't be molded into things quickly.
• Read my post - Marzipan 101 -Everything you need to know about Marzipan

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Frequently asked questions

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