Ingredients

• Almonds are boiled for easy skin removal and then crushed and mixed with sugar to form a workable marzipan paste. Marzipan products must, by law, contain a certain amount of almonds. They can be made, minimally, from 1 part almonds to 3 parts sugar. Products containing a lower ratio of almonds are known as almond paste. Marzipan is graded according to its almond content. Products with a high ratio of almonds to sugar are usually used as confections.
  
  

Decorations

• Replacing granulated sugar with liquid sugar makes marzipan more moldable, ideal for shaping and hand-molding decorations. It can be tinted any color, resulting in realistic-looking representations. Miniature fruits such as bananas, watermelon slices and pears are common decorations, as are a wide variety of flowers. A master sculptor can make very true-to-life decorations from marzipan.
  
  

Uses

• Marzipan decorations are popular on wedding and Christmas cakes. In fact, the holiday season sees an increase in the production of marzipan decorations. In Germany, it's customary to give marzipan pigs as good luck gifts on New Year's Eve. In Italy, marzipan fruits are enjoyed throughout the Christmas season.