How to Make Marzipan Decorations
Using Marzipan for Cupcake Decorating Ideas

Have you ever wondered how to make marzipan shapes and decorations, just like the ones you see on the beautifully decorated cakes in the bakeries?

Marzipan is quite easy to model and with a few simple kitchen tools, you can make such things as marzipan babies, marzipan fruits, marzipan flowers and animals like marzipan pigs, miniature figures like these always look good as a cupcake decoration.

Marzipan can be purchased readymade in its natural yellow color as well white. Using readymade marzipan is a quick way to get started with marzipan modeling but if you prefer you can always make your own.

Before modeling the marzipan you will need to color it using food colorings.

It is easier to color the white marzipan than the yellow. When adding some colors to the yellow marzipan the colors tend to distort, purple is one of these colors when added to the yellow marzipan it turns a dull brown color.

Liquid colors are only suitable if you have a small quantity to tint. If liquid colors are used in large amounts the marzipan will be too soft to work with.

So if you want make marzipan vibrant and stronger in color use pastes or powders which you can purchase from cake decorating suppliers.

Note: You can also model sugar paste in the same way that you do marzipan.

Marzipan Recipe

There are many marzipan recipes that you can try. Here is a simple one that you can use for modeling of animals, flowers, fruits and more.

This recipe will make about 450g (1lb) of marzipan, which is sufficient to cover a 18cm (7inch) round cake or 15cm (6inch) cake.

225g (8oz) ground almonds
115g (4oz) sifted icing sugar
115g (4oz) caster sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 drops of almond essence
1 beaten egg

1. Place the ground almonds, icing sugar and caster sugar into a bowl and mix together.

2. Add the lemon juice, almond essence and enough beaten egg to make a soft but firm dough. Gather together and form a ball.

3. Knead the marzipan until smooth on a work surface which has been dusted with sifted icing sugar. It should not be sticky.

How to Color Marzipan

How you apply color to marzipan will depend on whether it is a liquid, paste or powder.

1. To color marzipan use paste colors. Dip a cocktail stick into the coloring and streak it onto the surface. Knead thoroughly until the color is evenly worked in and not streaking.

The color will become more intense as the icing stands, so leave it for about 10 minutes to see if it is the correct shade.

2. To create subtle tints on specific areas such as flower petals, use powdered colorings apply with a small paint brush.

 

Make Marzipan Shapes Using Cutters

Now that you have colored your marzipan you are now ready to make marzipan shapes. Try stars, leaves, Christmas trees, Easter decorations and figures.

• Roll out some marzipan thinly on a little icing sugar (confectioners’ sugar) or between sheets of waxed paper to prevent it from sticking.

• Cut out shapes using cutters or carefully cut around the outsides of patterns that you have made from cardboard.

• You can then mark any design or detail on the cut-out using a cocktail stick or the point of a knife.

• Leave the shapes to dry for a day or two on a plate or sheet of paper if you have time.

Just be aware that if you are using the marzipan shape when wet the color can seep from the shape onto the frosting or icing.

Modeling Marzipan Animals, Fruit and Flowers

Marzipan animals make fun cupcake ideas for kids while marzipan flowers can make cupcake wedding cakes look quite elegant.

When using marzipan for modeling these shapes it must be supple enough to bend without breaking and not to soft or it will be sticky and not hold its shape.

How to Make Marzipan Bananas

Using yellow colored marzipan.

1. Roll the marzipan into tiny balls.

2. Roll into banana shapes, presing one end to a point, bend them slightly.

3. Square of the thicker end by tapping gently with your finger.

4.Allow them to dry for one hour before using.

 

How to Make Marzipan Carrots

Using orange colored marzipan.

1. Roll the marzipan into tiny balls.

2. Roll the balls between your palms and taper to look like a carrot. Making the tips of the carrot blunt not sharp.

3.Use the back of a knife or toothpick to make indentations on the carrot top and lines down the sides.

 

How to Make Marzipan Lemons

Using yellow colored marizpan.

1. Roll the colored marzipan into tiny balls.

2. Taper both ends of the ball to make a lemon shape.

3. Roll the balls over a grater to zester to texture the surface.

4. Use a toothpick to create indentations in the tapered ends.

5. Leave the lemons to dry for about an hour and then paint the ends with green food coloring.

 

How to Make Marzipan Limes

Using green colored marzipan.

1. Roll green colored marzipan into tiny balls.

2. Roll the balls over a grater to zester to texture the surface

3. Use a toothpick to create indentations in the tapered ends.

4. Leave the lemons to dry for about an hour and then paint the ends with green food coloring.

How to Make Marzipan Oranges

Using oranage colored marzipan.

1. Roll the colored marzipan into tiny balls.

2. Roll the balls over a grater to zester to texture the surface.

3. Press a clove into the tops of the oranges to make indented star shaped patterns.

 

How to Make Marzipan Pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns

1. Color one large ball of marzipan orange and a smaller ball of marzipan green.

2. Roll the orange marzipan into tiny balls.

3. Use the back of a knife, make fine indentations from the top to the bottom around the sides of the orange balls to make pumkin shapes.

4. Use your thumb, to slightly indent the tops where the lines meet.

5. Roll the green marzipan into stalk shapes. Use a little water as a glue and press the stalks into the tops of the pumkins.

6. To make the Jack-O-Lanterns, cut out faces into the pumpkin balls and with food coloring paint the faces black.

 

How to Make Marzipan Strawberries

 

1. You will need a to make large balls of marizpan colored red and a smaller balls of mazipan colored green.

2. Roll the red balls and taper the side of the red balls and taper onside to resemble a strawberry.

3. Roll the strawberries over a grater to zester to texture the surface.

4. Shape the small green balls into four pointed stars by rolling two small balls, tapering the ends and crossing them in the center.

Use a small amount of water to glue them to the tops of the strawberries.