John Myers
Rolling out and cutting out marzipan or getting an even marzipan cover on a cake can be a test of nerves. The marzipan sticks when unrolled falls apart or clump. While that’s not so bad with marzipan potatoes, an uneven surface on a covered poppy-seed marzipan cake spoils the look considerably. If you want to roll out marzipan without sticking, it is first important to knead the raw mass properly. The addition of some sifted icing sugar – around 50 g per 400 g raw mixture is sufficient – makes this step easier. You can also add a few drops of rose water or rum. If you want to color marzipan and roll it out, add food coloring or cocoa to the mixture.
Roll out the marzipan properly: It’s that easy
To roll out the raw marzipan, you need a flat work surface or board. Place the marzipan between two layers of cling film or aluminum foil and roll it out with a rolling pin. The big advantage of this method: If you want to roll out the marzipan thinly for a cake, simply lift it together with the cling film on top of the pastry and cover it. So nothing sticks or tears open. For thicker layers, you can also dust a wooden board with icing sugar and roll out the sweet mass on it. To make decorations out of marzipan, such as carrots for a carrot cake, you can use the kneaded mass directly without rolling it out.
Roll out marzipan: tips for baking professionals
If you often use marzipan for baking, it is worth buying baker’s starch. This is a very fine potato starch that does not clump. If you use it instead of icing sugar when dusting the work surface, you save yourself having to sift out the sugar. And you achieve very good results when rolling out marzipan, sugar pastes, or rolled fondant! Dusted with baker’s starch, cookie molds and cutters don’t stick either.
