Quick Marzipan

The marzipan is a flavoured cashew nut sweet prepared by Christians for Christmas or Easter. Quick Marzipan is so named because there’s absolutely no cooking involved.  It is similar in taste to the Indian sweet – Kaju Katli. The cashew nut is the primary ingredient and also the one the gives the sweet its yummy taste.

For a Quick Marzipan without egg, click here (coming soon) or for a Cooked Marzipan, click here.

Yield:  700 gms

Prep. Time: 60 Mins.

Ingredients:

• Cashew Nuts – 300 gms
• Icing Sugar (sieved) – 400 gms + for dusting
• Egg White – 1
• Rose Water – 30 ml
• Rose Essence – 2 to 3 drops
• Liquid Food Colour (various) – as needed

Step 1:     Divide the cashew nuts into three portions. Grind each portion in a dry grinder jar in short spurts till finely ground (It is important to grind them a few at a time. Don’t grind the cashew nuts all at once).

Step 2:     Sieve the cashew nut powder to remove any bits of cashew nuts. Place the sieved cashew nut powder in a bowl along with the icing sugar and mix.

Step 3:     Add the rose essence to the rose water and mix. Add this to the bowl with the cashew nut-icing sugar.

Step 4:     Beat the egg white till frothy. Take a tbsp. of the froth and add to the cashew nut mixture and mix with your clean fingers. Beat the egg white again and take another tbsp. of the froth and continue the same process till you have exhausted most of the egg white. Knead the mixture into a dough in the process (dust your fingers / palms with icing sugar to avoid the dough sticking to them).

Step 5:     Divide the dough into 3 to 4 portions. Take a plate and dust it with a little icing sugar. Take one portion of the dough on the plate and top it with a drop of food colour (just a drop) and knead to blend well (add another drop if you’re not satisfied with the colour or like a darker shade). Do this with different colours for all the portions of dough.

Step 6:     Take a rubber / silicon mould and dust it lightly with some icing sugar. Pinch out bits of the marzipan dough and press it into the moulds. Smoothen the surface with you finger. Demould and  place on a tray lined with butter paper. Leave to dry at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours (Mumbai temp.) or more and then store in an airtight container.

Note:

• Do not knead the dough too much or with too much pressure, else it will become oily. Knead gently and just enough to mix well.
• I have used lemon yellow, rose pink, orange and green liquid food colours.
• I use the rose shaped portions of the mould more often than the other shapes.
• The marzipan should stay good for 2 weeks at room temperature in an airtight container.
• This recipe was originally shared to me by my cousin Avila Trinidade.
• This recipe has been featured in Twinkl, as part of their Christmas Dinners Around the World series.