This article was co-authored by Maria Short. Maria Short is a Baker and the Owner of Short N Sweet Bakery & Cafe in Hilo, Hawaii. With over 24 years of experience, she specializes in specialty desserts and wedding cakes. She graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine’s Pastry Arts Program with honors and studied at Baltimore International Culinary College. In 2019, Maria competed in the 6th season of the Food Network’s Holiday Baking Championship. In 2010, she had a cake named one of “America’s Most Beautiful Cakes” by Brides magazine.
There are 18 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
How.com.vn marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 100% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status.
This article has been viewed 117,062 times.
Marzipan is a dough made primarily from ground almonds, sugar or honey, and either corn syrup or eggs.[1] Marzipan is used in baking for making decorative figures and covering cakes. Since it starts untinted, you will need to go through the steps of coloring marzipan before using it on your baked goods. Premixing color into marzipan may be simpler; however, if you want to use shading and multiple colors, try painting it instead.[2]
Steps
Mixing in Color
- Prepare the marzipan. Make or use pre-made marzipan. Portion off the amount of marzipan you want to color.[3]
- Select your type of coloring. Use food coloring paste for darker colors or food coloring liquid for lighter colors.[6]
- Protect your hands and clothes from the dye. Since mixing color into marzipan is a hands-on process, you will want to take measures so that the food coloring does not stain your hands or clothes.[7]
- Put on disposable food preparation gloves.
- If you prefer working without gloves, use a dab of shortening on your hands. Shortening will keep your hands moist and also helps prevent the dye from staining your skin.
- Wear an apron or smock to protect your clothing.
- Dip a toothpick into the coloring. For deep or dark colors, add powdered food coloring in with the liquid or paste so that the marzipan does not become sticky and difficult to work with.[8]
- Knead the marzipan with your hands. Continue kneading until the color is consistent and free from streaks.[12]
- Shape the marzipan as desired. You can smooth out any cracks that form in the marzipan by rubbing a little bit of water on them.[15]
- Add details. Dip a paintbrush into the food coloring liquid or paste. Use your paintbrush to apply bold definition to the exterior of the marzipan.[16]
- For example, paint markings onto petals or leaves.
- You can use a toothpick instead of a paintbrush to get thin details like veining.[17]
Advertisement
Painting Marzipan
- Shape the marzipan. Cover your cake or form the marzipan decorations you want to use while the marzipan is still in the state of its natural color.
- Let the marzipan sit. Allow the marzipan to dry overnight. This makes a good surface to paint on, one that is not too moist.
- Choose a dry, cool place - do not refrigerate.[18]
- Protect your hands and clothes from the paint. Wear disposable food preparation gloves and an apron or smock.
- Dilute the food coloring. Adding water allows you to achieve the color you want and a thinner consistency.[22]
- Put a bit of food coloring in the bottom of a bowl.
- Using your paintbrush, add water from a cup into the bowl until the food coloring is as diluted as you desire.
- Paint the marzipan. Dip a paintbrush into the diluted food coloring paint you have just created, and brush it on the marzipan figures.
- You can dip the paintbrush directly into undiluted food coloring to add strong definition to certain details – for example, the lines in a petal or leaf.[23]
- Dilute vanilla. For a watercolor effect, dilute clear, alcohol-based imitation vanilla with a small amount of water in a dish.
- Pick up powdered coloring with a paintbrush and swirl it into the water and vanilla mixture.
- Apply to the marzipan with a paintbrush to create shading and/or the illusion of texture.
- Add luster with petal dust. You can achieve even more detail by adding petal dust to the coloring.[24] The marzipan should be already shaped but not yet dry.[25]
- Pour some petal powder onto a saucer.
- Use a clean, dry paintbrush to add luster to the marzipan.
Advertisement
Community Q&A
- QuestionWhy does the marzipan crack when I cover fruitcake with it?Community AnswerThe marzipan is likely not warmed up enough. Make sure it's at room temperature before you begin to work with it, and knead it a lot (at least 10 minutes) so that it's soft and pliable. When you put it over the cake, it should be so soft that it bends as opposed to cracking. Also, try rolling out a slightly larger piece to work with.
Tips
- Marzipan dries out easily when left open to the air. Keep the dough moist when you are not using it by wrapping it in plastic wrap.[26]Thanks
- Painting over areas that are still wet will cause streaks. If you want to repaint a section, wait until it is thoroughly dry first.[27]Thanks
- A food coloring marker can be used for drawing little details on the finished product.Thanks
Warnings
- Avoid using latex gloves. Some individuals can have allergic reactions to food prepared using latex glovesThanks
Things You'll Need
Mixing in Color
- Marzipan
- Food coloring liquid or paste
- Food coloring powder
- Food preparation gloves and/or shortening
- Corn syrup
- Apron or smock
- Paintbrush
- Toothpick
- Small glass of water
Painting Marzipan
- Marzipan
- Food preparation gloves
- Apron or smock
- Paintbrush for each color and type of coloring
- Small cup of water for each color
- Small bowl for each color
- Liquid, paste or powdered food coloring
- Food coloring pen
- Edible petal dust
- Alcohol-based imitation vanilla
- Saucer
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about painting marzipan, check out our in-depth interview with Maria Short.
References
- ↑ http://www.marthastewart.com/911918/making-marzipan-fruit
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcQeUIvMr_o&feature=youtu.be&t=77
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=Fr816B-G5yMC&lpg=PA41&ots=yvfkgA_N23&dq=marzipan+shading&pg=PA41&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=marzipan%20shading&f=false
- ↑ http://www.dvo.com/recipe_pages/deluxe/Marzipan_Figures.php
- ↑ http://www.dvo.com/recipe_pages/deluxe/Marzipan_Figures.php
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=qtBz6n6U-m0C&lpg=PA68&ots=yP-FBjXuL8&dq=marzipan+food+coloring+liquid+paste+powder&pg=PA68&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ↑ http://hilahcooking.com/how-to-make-marzipan-fruits/
- ↑ http://www.cakesandsugarcraft.com/cake-chat/view/guide-to-food-colourings
- ↑ http://ifood.tv/preparation/236887-how-to-color-marzipan
- ↑ http://www.marthastewart.com/911918/making-marzipan-fruit
- ↑ http://www.marthastewart.com/911918/making-marzipan-fruit
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=ucDoCAAAQBAJ&lpg=PA14&ots=JPugODC5OQ&dq=marzipan%20shading&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q=marzipan%20shading&f=false
- ↑ http://www.marthastewart.com/911918/making-marzipan-fruit
- ↑ http://confectionarychalet.com/docs/?page_id=312
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=TL3y5uGdrz4C&lpg=PA34&ots=AJB-d3ks-E&dq=marzipan+paint+color&pg=PA34&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ↑ http://www.cakesandsugarcraft.com/cake-chat/view/guide-to-food-colourings
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=TL3y5uGdrz4C&lpg=PA34&ots=AJB-d3ks-E&dq=marzipan%20paint%20color&pg=PA34#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ↑ http://www.marthastewart.com/911918/making-marzipan-fruit
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=qtBz6n6U-m0C&lpg=PA68&ots=yP-FBjXuL8&dq=marzipan+food+coloring+liquid+paste+powder&pg=PA68&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ↑ http://confectionarychalet.com/docs/?page_id=312
- ↑ http://ifood.tv/preparation/236887-how-to-color-marzipan
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcQeUIvMr_o&feature=youtu.be&t=36
- ↑ http://www.cakesandsugarcraft.com/cake-chat/view/guide-to-food-colourings
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=f9Kq4ajgGogC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA18#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=ucDoCAAAQBAJ&lpg=PA14&ots=JPugODC5OQ&dq=marzipan%20shading&pg=PA15#v=onepage&q=marzipan%20shading&f=false
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=y0X4AwAAQBAJ&lpg=PA206&ots=vmG6aCPk4U&dq=marzipan+paint+color&pg=PA204&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=TL3y5uGdrz4C&lpg=PA34&ots=AJB-d3ks-E&dq=marzipan%20paint%20color&pg=PA34#v=onepage&q&f=false
Reader Success Stories
- "Making a child's cake with bold colors. I have never used marzipan. This explained coloring it to a deep shade."..." more
Did this article help you?
⚠️ Disclaimer:
Content from Wiki How English language website. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License; additional terms may apply.
Wiki How does not encourage the violation of any laws, and cannot be responsible for any violations of such laws, should you link to this domain, or use, reproduce, or republish the information contained herein.
- - A few of these subjects are frequently censored by educational, governmental, corporate, parental and other filtering schemes.
- - Some articles may contain names, images, artworks or descriptions of events that some cultures restrict access to
- - Please note: Wiki How does not give you opinion about the law, or advice about medical. If you need specific advice (for example, medical, legal, financial or risk management), please seek a professional who is licensed or knowledgeable in that area.
- - Readers should not judge the importance of topics based on their coverage on Wiki How, nor think a topic is important just because it is the subject of a Wiki article.