Marzipan Fruits

Make your own traditional Marzipan Fruits using shop-bought marzipan, food colouring and a few simple decorating techniques. Step-by-step instructions for making miniature apples, oranges, pears and lemons, with some optional finishing details to make them look even more realistic.

Author: Amy Beth Reid

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Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Christmas

Prep Time: 1

Drying Time: 12

Total Time: 13

Servings: marzipan fruits

Want cups or a different batch size? Use the controls below to switch between Metric (UK) and Cups (US) measurements, or adjust the Servings above to change the ingredient quantities. For the most accurate results, I recommend using grams and a digital scale. Serving adjustments are calculated automatically, so you may see some uneven quantities, like half of an egg. Baking times and tin sizes are based on the original recipe and may also need adjusting if you change the quantities.

INGREDIENTS

Metric (UK) • Cups (US)

200 g Marzipan
Food Colouring (gel food colouring preferable; yellow, red, green, orange...)
Whole Cloves (for stalk decorations)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preparing and Colouring the Marzipan

Take a small amount of marzipan and add a little food colouring. Knead it until the colour is evenly distributed, gradually adding more colouring until you reach the desired shade.

If the marzipan becomes too sticky, leave it to rest for a few minutes before continuing.

Repeat with the remaining marzipan, preparing whichever colours you need for your chosen fruits.

Making Marzipan Apples

Roll a piece of red or green marzipan into a ball, shaping it slightly to resemble an apple. Gently make a small indentation at the top, where the stalk will go.

Making Marzipan Oranges

Roll a piece of orange marzipan into a ball, then gently roll it over the spiky, star-shaped side of a box grater to create the dimpled texture of orange peel.

Making Marzipan Pears

Shape a piece of green or yellow marzipan into an egg-like shape, keeping one end wider and the other narrower to resemble a pear.

Making Marzipan Lemons

Roll a piece of yellow marzipan into an oblong shape, gently shaping the ends to resemble a lemon.

Adding the Finishing Details

If you want to make your fruits look more realistic, use a soft, fluffy brush to apply a little edible powdered food colouring, adding extra shading and detail.
For apples, pears and lemons, remove the rounded head from a whole clove and push the remaining stalk into the top of each fruit. For oranges, push a whole clove into the top, leaving the rounded head slightly exposed.
Leave your finished Marzipan Fruits at room temperature for 12-24 hours to dry slightly before storing or packaging.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion, but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.

RECIPE NOTES:

Quantity: 200g of marzipan makes approximately 16-18 small fruits, depending on their size. If you make larger fruits, you will get fewer; if you make smaller fruits, you can get more.

Cloves: These are purely decorative and should be removed before eating.

Drying: The fruits can be eaten straight away, but allowing them to dry for 12-24 hours makes them easier to handle and store.

SHOW NUTRITION INFO: HIDE NUTRITION INFO:

Nutrition information is provided as a guide and is based on automatic calculations. Actual values may vary depending on the ingredients and brands used, how the recipe is prepared, and individual portion or serving sizes.