"marzipan" 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.

As the resident cake baker in my circle of friends, I'm always trying to find something new and funky to make. I've been in a groove of no-cook fondant and marzipan figures, but this summer I got a challenge -- chocolate. Not being the biggest fan of chocolate cakes, I mostly stick to the many other flavors. However, my friend, she loves the dark and sinful treat. If she wanted chocolate, she was really going to get chocolate. Since she's also a skier, it would be served in a smooth, snowy package.

Death by Chocolate Cake, straight out of The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Chocolate, with white fondant, a marzipan skier, and some candles for wishing. Check out the gallery, peruse the recipe after the jump, and stay tuned for more information on the fondant and marzipan.

Knowing how to make your own marzipan is maybe not as useful a household trick as, say, knowing how to remove stains with seltzer water.

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Marzipan is a confection with a long history, as it is one of the oldest sweets that is still in the repertoire of modern pastry-makers. Even if you really love marzipan, you're probably not going to want to shell out $32 for this set of three adorably sculpted marzipan frogs from Dean and Deluca. If your Valentine loves marzipan on the other hand, you may want to rethink that position. This hand-sculpted set would make an awfully cute - and tasty - gift for a marzipan-loving significant other.

Available from Dean and Deluca, the amphibious trio weighs in at just 1.5-ounces. They were carefully crafted by Rebecca Russell, an award-winning New York based pastry artist who specializes in creating miniature figurines for wedding cakes, displays and, as in this case, gifts.

They will be hard to eat - not because the sugary almond paste itself is so hard, but simply because they are so cute!

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With all the coverage we here at Slashfood have been giving gingerbread men and gingerbread houses I thought it might be fun to search the web for Guinness World Records involving the favorite holiday flavor.

Without doubt, the most impressive gingerbread record this year is Roger Pelcher's gingerbread house. The house - which was built at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. - stands just shy of 64 feet. Pelcher beat his previous record of 57 feet.

It took him and his team nine days to build the 1,496-square-foot ginger-scented, candy-laden mansion. Given its size and the fact that it includes a gingerbread factory complete with animated elves, I think it's fair to call it a mansion. The gargantuan confection contains 14,250 pounds of gingerbread, 4,750 pounds of icing and more than a ton of candy decorations. Hansel and Gretel eat your heart out.

I'm not sure why people like to make gingerbread creations of outlandish proportions in Minnessota, but they do. From Rochester comes the world's largest gingerbread man. The big guy weighs in at 466 pounds and was baked by the Gingerbread House Bakery. The bakery plans to bring it to the Mall of America to join Pelcher's gingerbread palace.