Marzipan vs Almond Paste – They're Not the Same Thing!
Do you dislike marzipan? Are you sure you've actually tried it?
This is a conversation I have surprisingly often with customers. I'll mention marzipan for covering a traditional Christmas cake or fruit cake, and someone will immediately tell me they don't like it.
But when I ask what they have tried, it often turns out they've been eating something sold as almond paste or almond icing.
And here's the interesting part: the almond icing commonly sold in the cake-decorating trade doesn't actually contain any almonds!
So let's clear up the confusion, because real marzipan and almond paste are two quite different products.
What is real marzipan?
Marzipan is a traditional almond confectionery made using ground almonds and sugar, often with glucose or other sugar syrups.
It has a naturally sweet, distinctive almond flavour and a smooth, pliable consistency that makes it ideal for cake decorating.
Unlike products that simply have almond flavouring added, real marzipan gets its flavour from actual almonds.
Our Co Op White Marzipan contains 25% almonds and is a lovely quality product for cake decorators and bakers.
It is suitable for:
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Covering traditional Christmas cakes and fruit cakes.
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Creating the traditional almond layer underneath fondant icing.
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Covering wedding and celebration cakes.
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Making edible decorations and simple models.
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Adding a delicious almond layer to baking.
- Used in Battenberg cakes
A note about the colour: Our Co Op marzipan doesn't have whitener added. It has the natural creamy-white colour of the almond itself, rather than being a brilliant, stark white.
So what is almond paste or almond icing?
This is where things get a little confusing!
The almond paste or icing commonly sold in the cake-decorating trade is actually a fondant-style icing. It is essentially a white fondant product that has been flavoured with almond flavouring and given a pale ivory or yellow colour. It is loved by many and is much more economical than marzipan.
And importantly, it contains no almonds whatsoever. The almond flavoured icing we sell at Kiwicakes is completely nut free, so it's suitable for folks with nut allergies
If you've ever bought a mass-produced Christmas cake from the supermarket, you'll probably recognise it. That pale yellow layer sitting between the dark fruit cake and the white icing is typically this type of almond paste.
It's designed to give cakes the traditional appearance of an almond layer without using actual almond-based marzipan.
For cake decorators, it provides an alternative for customers who want that traditional almond-coloured layer beneath their fondant but don't want to use real marzipan.
It is important to understand that the name almond paste or almond icing can mean something quite different in other baking traditions. Traditional almond paste used in European baking can contain ground almonds. Here, we're talking specifically about the fondant-style almond paste sold for cake decorating.
What's the difference?
| Real Marzipan | Cake Decorating Almond Paste | |
|---|---|---|
| Contains almonds | Yes | No |
| Almond flavour | From real almonds | Added almond flavouring |
| Colour | Natural creamy almond colour | Pale ivory/yellow |
| Main ingredients | Ground almonds and sugar | Fondant-style icing ingredients |
| Texture | Smooth, pliable almond confectionery | Fondant-style icing |
| Suitable for almond allergies | No | Check the manufacturer's allergen information |
Why does this matter?
I think it's important because people sometimes dismiss marzipan without realising what they're actually comparing it to.
If you've tried the fondant-style almond paste used in cake decorating, you've tried an almond-flavoured icing, not real marzipan.
Real marzipan has its own distinctive flavour and texture, thanks to the almonds themselves. It's a traditional ingredient that has been used in cake decorating and confectionery for generations.
And if you're making a traditional Christmas cake this year, I'd encourage you to give real marzipan a try before deciding you don't like it!
Which one should I use?
It really comes down to what you want from your finished cake.
If you want the authentic flavour of almonds, real marzipan is the product to choose.
If you simply want a pale almond-coloured fondant-style layer underneath your icing, the cake-decorating almond paste is an alternative.
Just remember: one contains real almonds, and the other doesn't!
Try real marzipan - you'll find it at Kiwicakes here
Our Co Op White Marzipan 500g is made with 25% almonds and is ideal for covering fruit cakes, Christmas cakes and celebration cakes.
Perhaps it's time to give real marzipan a chance. You might discover you like it after all!
