Marzipan

Recipes for making and using Marzipan

In the following, I am attempting to provide a collection of recipes for marzipan or marchpane, gathered by country.  I have not, for the moment, included the recipe in the original language of publication, nor have I provided a modern recipe. Please note too that this is not an exhaustive list and I will continue to add to it over time.   My thanks to the kind and generous people who have transcribed and translated these recipes and shared them freely with the rest of us.

England

To make Manus Christi.

Good Huswives jewell, 1585

Take sixe spoonefull of Rosewater, and graines of Ambergreece, and 4. grains of Pearle beaten very fine, put these three together in a Saucer and couer it close, and let it stande couered one houre, then take foure ounces of very fine Suger, and beat it small, and search it through a fine search, then take a little earthen pot glased,and put into it a spoonefull of Suger, and a quarter of spoonefull of Rosewater, and let the Suger and the Rosewater boyle together softelye, till it doe rise and fall a-

gaine three times. Then take fine Rie flo-wer, and sifte on a smooth borde, and with a spoone take of the Suger, and the Rosewater, and first make it all into a rounde cake, and then after into little Cakes, and when they be halfe colde, wet them ouer with the same Rosewater, and then laye on your golde, and so shall you make very good Manus Christi.

Marchpane

Delights for Ladies, England, 1609

12 - To make an excellent Marchpane paste, to print off in moulds for banquetting dishes. Take to every Jordan Almond blanched, three spoonefuls of the whitest refined sugar you can get: searce your sugar, and now and then, as you see cause, put in two or three drops of damask Rose-water: beare the same in a smooth stone mortar, with great labour, until you have brought it into a dry stiffe paste: one quarterne of sugar is sufficient to worke at once.

Make your paste in little bals, every ball containing so much by estimation, as will cover your mould or print; then roune the same with a rowling pin upon a sheet of cleane paper, without strewing any powdered sugar either upon your paste or paper. There is a countrey Gentlewoman whom I could name, which venteth great store of sugar-cakes made of this composition. But the only fault which I find in this paste is, that it tasteth too much of the sugar, and too little of the almonds: and therefore you may prove the making thereof by such almonds which have had some of their oil taken from them by expression, before you incorporate them with the sugar; and so happely you may mix a greater quantity of them with the sugar, because they are not oylie as the other.

You may mix cinamon or ginger in your paste, & that will both grace the taste, and alter the colour, but the spice must passe thorow a faire searce; you may steep your almonds in cold water all night, & so blanch them cold, and being blanched, dry them in a sieve over the fire. Heere the ???? of almonds will make a cheap paste.

18 - To make a Marchpane. Take two pounds of Almonds being blanched and dryed in a sieve over a fire: beat them in a stone mortar; and when they bee small, mix with them two pounds of sugar being finely beaten, adding 2 or 3 spoonfuls of Rose-water, and that will keeps your almonds from oyling. When your paste is beaten fine, drive it thin with a rowling ping, and so lay it on a bottom of wafers: then raise up a little edge on the side, and so bake it: then yce it with Rose-water and sugar: then put it into the oven once again, and when you see your yce is rise up, & dry, then take it out of the oven, & garnish it with pretty conceits, as birds and beasts, being cast out of standing moulds. Stick long comfits upright in it: cast biskets and carrowaies on it, and so serve it: gild it before you serve it: you may also print off this Marchpane paste in your molds for banquetting dishes: and of this paste our comfitmakers at this day make their letters, knots, Arms, Escocheons, beasts, birds,

and other fancies.

Marchpane

The English Housewife (1615)

To make the best marchpane, take the best Jordan almonds and blanch them in warm water, then put them into a stone mortar, and with a wooden pestle beat them to pap, then take of the finest refined sugar well searced, and with it, and damask rose-water, beat it to a good stiff paste, allowing almost to every Jordan almond three spoonful of sugar. Then when it is brought thus to a paste, lay it upon a fair table, and, strewing searced sugar under it, mould it like leaven; then with a rolling pin roll it forth, and lay it upon wafers washed with rose water, then pinch it about the sides, and put it into whatever form you please; then strew searced sugar all overit, which done wash it over with rose-water and sugar mixed together, for that will make the ice, then adorn it with comfits, gilding, or whatsoever devices you please, and so set it into a hot stove and there bake it crispy and so serve it forth. Some use to mix with the paste cinnamon and ginger finely searced, but I refer that to your particular taste.

France

 Marzipan

Ouverture de Cuisine, 1604 - Daniel Myers, translation

To make Marzipan. Take almonds appointed as above, & flatten the paste as for making a tart, then form the marzipan as fancy as you want, then take sifted sugar & mix with rose water, & beat it together that it is like a thick batter, cast there a little on the marzipan, & flatten with a well held knife until the marzipan is all covered, then put it into the oven on paper: when you see that it boils thereon & that it does like ice, tear apart from the oven, when it doesn't boil, & sprinkle on nutmeg: if you want it golden, make it so. 

Spain

Fruit Made of Sugar [Marzipan]

An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook, Andalusia, 13th c. - Charles Perry, translator

Add one part of sieved sugar to one part of cleaned and pound almonds. Knead it all with rose water and roll your hand in almond oil and make with it whatever you want of all fruits and shapes, if God wishes.

Marzipans for invalids who have lost the desire to eat, very good and of great sustenance (91)

Libre del Coch, 1520 - Robin Carroll-Mann, translator

Take a very fat capon or a hen which is very fat, and cook it with just your salt until it is very well-cooked; then take the breasts from it, and all the white meat without skin, and weigh that meat, and take as much peeled almonds, and combine the meat and the almonds; and take as much fine white sugar as all of this, and grind the almonds a great deal, and then the meat with them, and then the sugar; and then grind everything together, and stretch that dough upon a wafer, and make little marzipans of the size that you wish; and make the edges a little high, and let it be a little deep in the middle; and moisten it with orange-flower water with some feathers. 

And then sprinkle fine ground and sifted sugar over that water, and then moisten it again, and sprinkle it as before; and then cook them in the oven in some flat casseroles, and paper underneath; and let the fire of the oven be moderate; and upon removing it from the casserole, the paper must be cast off of each one, in such a manner that the marzipan does not break. And this is a very singular dish and of great support for the invalids who have lost the [desire] to eat; because the little of this that they eat is of more sustenance than any other thing; principally drinking in addition to it the sulsido of hens made in the jug; and this cannot have a value placed upon it.

Marzipans (Mazapanes)

Libro de Guisados, Ruperto de Nola (Spain 1529) (translation by Robin Caroll-Mann)

Take almonds which are select, and wholesome, and well-peeled in boiling water.  And grind them very well, moistening the pestle of the mortar in rosewater so that they don't become oily.  And when they are well-ground, cast in as much syrupy sugar as there will be almonds; and let it be well-ground, and strained through a silk sieve; and make good paste incorporating the sugar little by little, and not with large amounts, so that you don't make the paste viscous, and spread them out very well.

The way to cook and glaze them:

Take fine sugar which is very well-ground, and strain it through a sieve of silk; and for a syrup put it in this way, and blend it with rosewater which is reasonably thick.

It is necessary that the oven is not very intense, but temperate; and take the sheet on which you will cook the marzipans, and heat it in the oven; and when it is hot, cast flour on it, under the marzipans, so that they don't stick; and put them in the oven until you see that you cannot bear to touch them with the back of your hand; and if the outside is not cooked, be sure to return it to the edge of the sheet with the outside on the inside.  And then take them out and with a little spoon cast glaze upon them, and with some feathers spread it out all over.  And then return them gently to the oven until the glaze hardens, as you think [right] according to the practice you have seen.

Fritter Of Marzipan (Fruta De Mazapa)

Take blanched almonds [which are] very well-ground; and when they have been ground, cast in sugar; and for a pound of almonds another pound of sugar; and grind it all together, and as you are grinding it, feed it with rosewater, and let all be as well ground as you can; and then take well-sifted flour, and knead it with eggs and lard, and a little white wine, and make little cakes; and cast that paste in them, and set a frying pan with lard; and after heating it well, cast the fritter within, and fry it slowly; and then on the plate cast honey, and sugar, and cinnamon on it.

Germany

Marzipan

Das Kuchbuch der Sabina Welserin, 16th century - V. Armstrong, translator

22. If you would make good marzipan. First take a half pound of almonds and soak them overnight in cold well water, take them out in the morning. Next pound them well until they become oily, pour a little rose water on them and pound them further. When they become oily again, then pour a little more rose water thereon. Do this until they no longer become oily. And pound the almonds as small as possible. After that take a half pound of sugar, pound not quite all of it in, leaving a little left over. Next, when the almonds and sugar are pounded well together, put them in a bowl, take the lid from a small box, loosen the rim completely, so that it can be detached and put back on again, however leave the lid and the rim together. 

Take wafers and make them about as wide as a pastry shell, very round. Spread the almond paste described above with the fingers onto the wafers, moistening the fingers with rose water and dipping the almond paste into the sugar, which you have kept in reserve. After that, when you have spread it out evenly with your hands, take the sugar that you have reserved and sprinkle it through a sieve evenly over the marzipan. And take a small brush and dip it in rose water and sprinkle the marzipan overall, so that the sugar is dissolved. Then let it bake. 

Check it often, so that it is not burnt. It should be entirely white. The amount of a half pound is necessary, so that the oil remains.