"almond paste" news and stories

One of the biggest secrets of the baking world is that some of the most impressive treats are often quite easy to make -- especially when marzipan is involved. That thick and nutty almond paste offers a flavor perfect for Thanksgiving treats, and can easily be molded into any number of holiday-specific nibbles, whether you're an old sculpture pro or feel that you have two left hands.

I'm usually the last person to get excited about wedding cakes. I'll leave it up to you gentle readers to decide whether this is because of a deep-seated fear of commitment; the fact that many wedding cakes are towering, multitiered butter-cream behemoths; or some combination of all of the above.

Despite my hardened exterior, I got a kick out of the cake pictured here, which features 400 Emperor Penguins arrayed around a series of icebergs. The groom's uncle spent three days painstakingly creating them out almond paste, cake and chocolate.

It seems that the penguin motif was not intended to reflect the wedding's lack of black-tie attire, but rather as an homage to the grooms' interests. Seems the fellow has been to Antartica five times.

[via boingboing]