WHAT ARE THE MARZIPAN FIGURINES AND WHY ARE THEY NAMED SO?
To know and understand what marzipan figurines are, we must first explain what marzipan is.
Marzipan is a typical Christmas sweet whose main ingredients are: almonds, sugar and eggs. Although it is a special sweet of the Christmas holidays, in Toledo it is consumed throughout the year, like mantecados.
The creation of this sweet arose in Greece, Italy and Toledo, although it gains more strength in the Spanish city, especially it is attributed to the San Clemente de Toledo Convent in 1212 after the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa with the idea of reducing hunger with the mixture of almonds with sugar.
In Spain it is known as marzipan figurines since they adopt different shapes of animals and objects that make this typical Spanish sweet even more special.
RECIPE TO MAKE MARZIPAN FIGURINES
The recipe for how to make marzipan is very simple and with only 3 basic ingredients this typical Christmas sweet is made that everyone likes.
- First, we must grind the almond that we are going to use. A mixer would be a good tool.
- Second, mix the previously ground almonds with the icing sugar.
- Next, crack an egg in a separate bowl and separate the white from the yolk. Pour the egg white into the almond and icing sugar mixture.
- Stir the three ingredients to form a smooth paste.
- Once the ingredients are compact, knead the mixture with your hands and on a non-stick mat or smooth surface, until it has a completely homogeneous appearance.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- The next step would be to shape the marzipan. Typical marzipan figurines: snail, moon, leaf, face, little animal, etc.
- Once the figurines are made, we paint them taking advantage of the yolk of the egg and thus, the sweet will gain in flavor.
- Place in the oven at 200º with grill function. Depending on the oven, they may take more or less minutes.
- Remove from the oven and wait for them to cool in order to enjoy their delicious flavor.
Tip: if the dough is a bit dry, you can add a little water, while if the dough is sticky, add a little almond and icing sugar in equal parts.
HIGHLIGHTS THE MAZAPÁN DE SOTO
Soto marzipan (mazapán de Soto) is a type of marzipan to stand out. Although it is the same sweet, it is a slightly different variety of marzipan than the standard one.
This small difference lies in its preparation, since in addition to the ground almond, sugar and egg, lemon essence and a pinch of bitter almond are added. In addition, it is characterized by having a wafer base and belongs to a category of supreme quality.
But in addition to our marzipan from Soto, in Gastronomic Spain we also have different brands and formats available so you can buy marzipan figurines to taste.
