How to make marzipan

Bitter almonds are poisonous. 10 can kill a child. It is the same poison you find in dried beans. By heating them up you change the poison into a B vitamin. You don't have to add them.

Bitter almonds. The taste is so bitter that you would not eat them as an adult, but children might. I keep mine in the medicine cupboard under lock and key.

Take the skin of the almonds by boiling them for a minute or two, and thereby also removing the poison in the bitter almonds. They are added because they intensify the taste of almonds.

Dry your almonds in the oven at 390°F/200°C for 5-10 minutes. Blitz them until they start to release oil. At this stage it is just almond flour.

This is what you want. The oil in the almonds makes the flour stick together when pressed and turn back into flour when rubbed between your fingers.

Combine the water and sugar and heat it up to 250°F/120°C. It takes about 10-15 minutes to reach this temperature. Do not stir as that will cause crystals to form.

Take your sugar sirup off the heat and let it sit until the bubbles are gone. 2 minutes. I know that some use icing sugar when making marzipan, but it contains potato starch I don't like the taste.

Add the hot sirup to the almond flour with the machine running.

It looks like soup, but don't worry it is just as it should be. Just keep blitzing as the marzipan cools down a bit.

After 3-4 minutes it starts to thicken. Let it cool down until you can touch it. Then knead it like you would do with dough, until you have a shiny lump of marzipan.

It will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge. Merry Christmas. Glædelig Jul.