Marzipan Fruits

                                                 Fruits made with homemade Marzipan. 

                                
             Marzipan is a sweet dough, used for covering the cakes as a base for icing or, making cake decorations or, for making sweetmeats too like small balls covered in chocolate etc.
            I made marzipan fruits two days back for which I made the marzipan at home only as it is  
not available in the market in my city. My marzipan was different as I did not make it in the traditional way. I am a bit averse to using raw egg-white which is used for binding the marzipan dough so, I thought of using dissolved gelatin instead. The end product is a little different but it served the purpose and, I found the dough more pliable though a bit sticky for which I had to wash my hands often.                                       
        This is how I made the marzipan dough and then, fruits with it--
                                                                                    
 1.    The first step is to crush the almonds (with skins) in the electric grinder. Give it very small pulses; don't grind for long in one go otherwise almonds start oozing oil. Every time you grind almonds, put them in a flour strainer and shake nicely over a news paper. You will get a small amount of very fine almond powder. Return the rest to the grinder, add some more almonds and pulse again. This process is time-consuming. 
        Remember, you'll get only 1/3 amount in powder form. Grind the rest some more to get a coarse powder, which will be slightly lumpy.
        The fine powder can be used to make very smooth fruits, flowers or, for covering the cakes. The coarse powder can be used for many other fruits and leaves ( as I have done) or, for making sweets also. 


2.    The second step is to dissolve the gelatin. I used 5 teaspoons of lemon juice, to give it a nice tang and mixed it with 7-8 tsp. of water. You can use all water instead. Now sprinkle 1 tsp. of gelatin over it ( in a small metal pan) and leave it to soften for 10 minutes after which time the gelatin will swell-up. Just held it over low heat, shaking slightly, till gelatin is dissolved.completely.

3.    The third step is to knead the dough. You should take equal amounts (by weight) of almond powder and icing sugar. I took 80 gms. each of the almond powder and icing sugar. Sprinkle 4-5 tsp. dissolved gelatin over it and mix with fingers. Also add 1 tsp. of edible glycerin and a few drops of almond essence. The dough will be sticky initially but as you keep kneading, it'll become smooth like children's modeling clay. If you find it too wet, add some more icing sugar and knead till smooth. You can keep this dough for a few days in an airtight container.  
4.    Now comes the fruit-making part. I've used only the coarse powder yet and made some strawberries, guavas and oranges. Here is how you've to go about it-
Take a lump of the dough and mix the desired color in it. I tried making straw-berries first so I mixed a few drops of strawberry color. Mix the color by folding the dough over itself again and again and then knead till you get a nice uniform color.












                                                          


      














In the same manner green and orange colors can also be made.
 (1)   To make strawberries, take a small lump of marzipan, roll it into a round shape and then taper it at one end. Cut a star shape from the green marzipan to make leaves.           

     Now apply some water on top of the strawberry with a brush, put the star on top and stick it by pushing with the back of the brush.                                                     






 

Use a toothpick to create the dimpled effect.  












  (2)   To make guavas, roll a portion of the green marzipan into a round shape roughly resembling a guava. Take a clove and remove the center bulb of it's flower. Insert the stem into the green sphere so that only the flower is visible. Insert the flower portion on the other end of the sphere to make the stem. Your guava is ready.

      












    (3)    Next, to make oranges, roll some orange dough into a perfect round and roll it softly over the slots
        of a grater (with small slots) to create the rough surface of an orange. Next, insert the flower-end of a clove
        on one end, to create the stem and your orange is ready. 








     To create the greenish effect on the skin, mix 2 drops of green color with one drop of orange-red and apply the resulting color very lightly with a brush, on some portions of the orange. It brings a very realistic look.

(4)    Lastly, to make leaves, all you have to do is flatten small portions of the green marzipan between your finger and palm and, cut into desired shapes. The veins can be created by pressing the back of a knife on the leaf.  


(5)    Leave these fruits and leaves to dry for a few hours and then put in a flat air-tight container on wich a piece of polythene has been spread. cover with another piece of polythene and close the lid.


Note- As this dough is a bit sticky, keep you hands clean and dry by frequent washing and drying, if you want good results. 
I have not used the fine powder yet. That'll make another post! First you try making these easy fruits and enjoy eating them too!




                                                                                 Enjoy!