Curious to know the story behind the MARZIPAN and learn how to make it ? This article is for you !

             Moroccan sweets are characterized by diversity and by the wide selection and innumerous choices of food, which shows our ability as a people to innovate and invent.

             Cakes can be prepared for different occasions and periods; for example, Ramadan, Eid, Ashura, festivals and sometimes we prepare without any occasion.           

By changing only one or few ingredients, we sometimes might end up with a whole different type of biscuit and that is one of many other Moroccan cuisine characteristics. Impressive isn\’t it?

Among the most famous fillings in Morocco we have, almond paste , also called marzipan, almonds, which are the common ingredient that are often used. This paste contains some ingredients like almonds, eggs and sugar. Although the ingredients aren’t much , the taste of the cake is incredibly delicious.

The dough can be used to decorate other cookies and sweets, and you can also eat them alone without the need for additions.

Since Morocco is a ranked touristic country, it is not only our Moroccan recipes that travel the world and capture the spirit of foreigners, but we are also interested in other’s civilizations  and other cultures as well as the overseas cuisine and recipes,  same as our interest in the almond paste marzipan sweet which is the main character of this article.

The origins of Marzipan sweet :

Almond paste can possibly be a species of two native countries :

             The first one is that the marzipan sweet came from the northern Mediterranean. Specifically, from Italy, where gingerbread was found with almond paste filling a store in SanGimignano, and although it is believed to have been known in Persia, Iran, and was brought by the Turks to Aruba, Hungarians and Italians question its authorship. It is called the \” Erzban \” and \” Motovun \”, which was found in the city of Byzantium.

              In Italy, legend has it that in the Middle Ages, the daughter of a Venetian baker had to help her father mix a little chopped almond in a large cake. But the little girl, in love, was so busy dreaming, that she put a lot of almonds. Her father was angry when he discovered what she has done and reprimanded hem for wasting his precious almonds. But suddenly, the disaster turned into a blessing. The father was talking, then a piece of dough went into his mouth and immediately silenced him.

 He never ate anything that tasted that good . The raw dough was cut into small pieces and sold with great success, and the baker became a prosperous and richman, simply by selling bread with marzipan sweet . He calls it Marcus bread, in the name of the patron saint of the city.

              The second version is that Mary, the young daughter of confectionery    manufacturer Venice Padrot Mark, was playing in her father\’s workshop and accidentally spilled honey in a block of almond that ended up on a hot baking sheet. When the latter tasted the preparation, he shouted: \” It is a dessert invented by Marie! \” \”. He shaped the dough into small pieces of sacred candles decorated by Venetians, following the trend of the time, and began to sell them. During the famine, the bread in almond paste shape was distributed to people. At first, the dough was made of honey, and then sugar.

Marzipan then became a major in Germany, in the Baltic Sea region, especially in the city of Lübeck.

  In Germany, the German chief would have been the first to produce marzipan. The chef, who worked with a rich man in the 17th century, had to serve a delicious dessert for a very special feast. The president was a fictitious gentleman. Cut and peel a large number of almonds, then add the sugar to make the dough. They were then cut into small pieces and presented at the party where they had great success. The chef named the dough Franz Marsib, and at the end of his life he returned to his hometown of Lübeck and opened a marzipan factory.

         Now here are the ingredients as well as the steps to make the Mazipan paste .

For ingredients you will need:

• 250 grams of peeled almonds .
• 250 grams of sweet sugar .
• Two white eggs .
• A cup of coarse sugar .
• Two tablespoons of flower water .

Preparation steps :

1. In an electric blender, put the almonds and add sugar and grind it until you get a homogeneous mixture.

2- In a bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric beater. 

3- Add the scrambled eggs to the almond and sugar mixture and keep beating until you get a soft paste.

4- Put the dough in another bowl, then add the sweet sugar, flower water and then mix it using your hands.

5- Keep mixing until you get soft dough.

If you want to add food coloring to the dough to decorate it, try this method:

1- Spray the surface with sweet sugar so that the dough does not stick to it.

2- Divide the dough according to how much you want to get.

3- Put a small amount of the food coloring on the pieces of pasta and mix well until the color is homogenous.

4- Put the dough in the refrigerator for a period of 30 minutes.

5- Then take it out of the refrigerator, put it on a surface covered with a plastic bag so that the dough does not stick.

6- Get creative and create shapes with the dough.

7- Put there at the cooler for 10 to 15 minutes.

And now it is ready to be used .

         Almonds are known for their high number of benefits ; you can eat as much as you want , and it will never harm you.

What is your favorite part in the history of Marzipan sweet ? Share with us in the comment section your recipes using this magical ingredient.