Christmas Cake Decorating Part 1 – Cashew Marzipan

I’ve never decorated a cake with anything more fancy than butter icing before, so I’m not sure why I’m tempting fate decorating Oscar’s Christmas Cake, but I am!  The first step is the Marzipan.  I’m not a fan of almond marzipan, but while researching options I came across some recipes for cashew marzipan, which seems to be popular in India.   I also watched several videos about how to make marzipan, the most useful being this one from Confection Perfection.  I’ll write a post about decorating the cake a bit later, but I think I did a pretty good, although a bit rough, job for my first attempt.

Cashew Mazipan

Serves 1
Prep time 30 minutes
Allergy / Intolerance Amines, Artificial Addititives, Artificial Colours, Glutamates, Preservatives, Salicylates
Suitable for RPAH Elimination Diet - Low Chemical / Failsafe
Meal type Dessert
Misc Freezable, Pre-preparable
Occasion Birthday Party, Casual Party, Christmas, Formal Party
Region Indian
Cashew marzipan, an alternative to traditional almond marzipan.

Ingredients

  • 500g raw cashews
  • 500g pure icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
  • 3 egg white

Directions

1.
Using a food processor, grind the cashews to make a fine powder. Stop grinding if the powder starts to become oily.
Making Cashew Marzipan Dough
2.
Put the cashews and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and mix to combine.
Making Cashew Marzipan Dough
3.
Combine the egg whites and vanilla essence and beat lightly. Make a well in the centre of the cashew mixture and add the egg whites. Mix until the dough starts to come together. If it is not firm enough add a bit more icing sugar.
Making Cashew Marzipan
4.
Pour the dough onto a clean surface and knead until you have a firm smooth dough.
Cashew Marzipan Dough
5.
Wrap in cling film and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. Can be made 2 days ahead and stored in the fridge, or store in the freezer for longer.
Cashew Marzipan Dough

Note

Low Chemical / Failsafe

Makes more than enough marzipan to cover a 20cm cake, depending on how thick you like it.

 

So my cake is now drying out, although given the temperatures in Melbourne at the moment I only left it out uncovered for 2 days and have now put it into an airtight container in the fridge until I do the Royal Icing part.

 

 

 

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