Marzipan Holly Recipes

Steps:

• Spread the bread with an even layer of Marzipan Butter, cover liberally with Homemade Sprinkles and cut each slice into 4 triangles.
• In a food processor, blend the almonds, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until creamy and spreadable, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, almond extract and salt and blend, scraping down the sides occasionally, until very creamy and spreadable, 12 to 15 minutes more. If desired, drizzle in a tiny bit of oil to thin out the texture and make it more spreadable. Caution: The mixture will be quite hot when it's finished blending.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, egg white and salt. The consistency should be slightly thicker than glue. Add a bit of water if it is too thick or more powdered sugar if it is too thin. Divide into three bowls (it won't seem like that much in each bowl!) and add the food coloring. Transfer each color to a piping bag fitted with a very small tip and pipe lines onto the parchment paper. Let dry at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight. Scrape the lines off the paper and break into sprinkles.

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, add the almond paste and beat just to break up the almond paste some. Add about 1 cup of the sugar and mix until it is incorporated. Add the remaining sugar and beat until incorporated. The mixture will look like coarse bread crumbs at this point. Add the corn syrup and mix to combine well. The mixture will still be very crumbly.
• Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and knead until it makes a smooth dough. If the dough seems too sticky, knead in a little more confectioners' sugar. The dough can be tightly wrapped and refrigerated at this point. If you want to color the marzipan, break off the amount of dough you want colored. Add a drop and knead in. For more intense color, add more food coloring. Shape into desired shapes.

Steps:

• Roll out the marzipan until 3/4 inch thick, using confectioners' sugar to dust the work surface and rolling pin to avoid sticking. Cut into rectangles, about 1 1/2 by 3 inches each, or cut into other shapes.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave until smooth. Set a rack on a sheet of parchment paper or on a baking sheet. Using two forks, dip each piece of marzipan in the chocolate to cover completely. Transfer to the rack and decorate with pistachios and dried rose petals. Allow to set until firm, about 30 minutes.
• In a food processor, blend the nuts until they're finely ground and just starting to clump together (but don't over-blend them or you'll end up with nut butter). Add the confectioners' sugar, extract, rosewater (if using) and salt; pulse to combine.
• With the motor running, drizzle in the corn syrup and blend to form a dough. It may still look crumbly in the food processor, but if you squeeze it in your hand, it should stick together. (You may find that you don't need all of the corn syrup.) Form the marzipan into a ball or log and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap until ready to use. Store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll out the marzipan to 3/4 inch thickness, using powdered sugar to dust the work surface and rolling pin to avoid sticking. Cut into desired shapes.
• Meanwhile, melt the chocolate over a double boiler until smooth. Using 2 forks, dip each piece of marzipan in the chocolate to cover completely. Transfer to the lined baking sheet and decorate with sprinkles as desired. Allow to set until firm, about 30 minutes. Share!

Steps:

• Sit the cake on a cake board or serving plate. Brush the top and sides with some of the jam. Roll out the marzipan on an icing-sugar-dusted surface until large enough to cover the top and sides of the cake - use a piece of string to help you measure. Carefully lift your marzipan on top and smooth down the sides of the cake to stick. Trim the bottom, then brush all over again with more jam.
• Make sure your surface is really clean, then dust again with a little icing sugar. Knead 850g of the icing until it is very smooth and pliable. As with the marzipan, roll out the icing, then cover the cake and once again trim any excess from the bottom. Smooth out any bumps or marks with the flats of your hands, rubbing the icing to buff it to a shine.
• Pull off about a fifth of the remaining icing and knead in enough red food colouring to give a bright colour. Pinch off small amounts and roll between your fingers to make little 'berries'. Sprinkle some glitter on a saucer and roll the balls in it to coat completely. Shake off any excess glitter and set aside to firm up.
• Knead some green food colouring into the remaining icing and roll it out thinly on an icing-sugar-dusted surface. Stamp out lots of holly leaves and begin sticking them onto your iced cake. Use a paintbrush to moisten the underside of each leaf with a little water - don't make them too wet though, or the green colour might leak onto the rest of the cake. When you have added enough holly leaves, mix a splash of water into some icing sugar to make a runny but fairly stiff icing, and use this to stick on your glitter berries. Leave the cake for a good couple of hours to dry before cutting into it. The cake will sit happily uncut for up to 2 weeks. Once cut into, keep in an airtight tin for up to a month.