Marzipan Covered Cake???

Decorating By MyMacka Updated 1 Dec 2016 , 12:24pm by melisa73

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MyMacka Posted 26 Aug 2014 , 6:31pm
post #1 of 22

Hello All,

This is one for outside the box thinking....

I have a bride who does not want fondant and only wants buttercream "if you HAVE to."

She wants the cake covered with marzipan only.  

I have always used fondant or buttercream to cover.

I tired to explain to her that it is a nut paste and will dry out and become hard if it is used for just the final cover.  

Anyone have any suggestions as to what else I might cover the marzipan with?  

Or maybe how to keep the marzipan from drying out???

 

She is not opposed to chocolate.  so I thought about trying to make a chocolate paste (like modeling chocolate to cover it all but then she didn't like the "brown" of the chocolate as the final layer

She wants me to just use the marzipan and color that...

 

Anyone got anything?

21 replies
-K8memphis Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
-K8memphis Posted 26 Aug 2014 , 6:38pm
post #2 of 22

use white chocolate -- the real cocoa butter 'white' chocolate is more off white ie yellower colored than candy melt 'white' chocolate --

 

i would charge a fortune for all marzipan covered

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AnnieCahill Posted 26 Aug 2014 , 6:40pm
post #3 of 22

The marzipan will definitely form a crust and get dry.  You could brush it with a very thin layer of melted and strained apricot jam but that will make it shiny.  Otherwise you will have to use some other covering for it such as modeling chocolate or one of the other icings that she doesn't want.  You could also keep the layers airtight as close to assembly as possible to minimize the marzipan drying out. The thing with marzipan is that it might be dry on the outside but since it's oily it won't get hard and gross in the short time it's displayed.  It will still be chewy and sweet.  I have seen many marzipan covered cakes which are very pretty.  Good luck!

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Dayti Posted 26 Aug 2014 , 8:08pm
post #4 of 22

Maybe she wouln't mind white chocolate ganache? You can flavour it, or not, and do a smooth or rustic finish.

Re. using marzipan, I think it only dries out as much as fondant after it's been on the cake a couple of days. You will have to use something UNDER the marzipan to get a smooth finish, just like fondant. On a rich fruit cake, its not a problem since they are not torted and filled so no gaps to fill in so apricot jam is used to stick it to the cake. But on a sponge type cake, not sure what you can use other than buttercream (or ganache). Jam would show every single flaw and divot in the cake.

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MyMacka Posted 26 Aug 2014 , 9:22pm
post #5 of 22

Yeah, no kidding a fortune...the marzipan alone is $100.00 and I still have to make it and the rest of the cake
But since this cake is gratis...yes FREE...as it is for my sons wedding,  I am trying my best to be both practical and diplomatic 

They want a chocolate sponge with chocolate mousse filling and some sort of fruit...raspberry? 

I will suggest the white chocolate ganache. It could work!

(Did I mention they want this cake is all organic and non-GMO too?)

I guess this is good practice for when I open my shop, eh???
Tough stuff.
You guys are great.

Thank you thank you thank you...

Macka

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craftybanana Posted 26 Aug 2014 , 10:00pm
post #6 of 22

I saw a thread where someone said "naked" cakes are fashionable (no outside frosting, hence the naked part). I'm no caker, but it sounds like this bride doesn't like the sweet stuff. Maybe find out what kind of desserts she does like and get inspiration from there?

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winniemog Posted 27 Aug 2014 , 6:49am
post #7 of 22

AGoodness me, it sounds as though you are already the dream mother in law!

I would try either white chocolate, either modelling paste or ganache.

Perhaps you could ask her to "collect/buy" the marzipan for you and then she will realise how expensive it is!

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mcaulir Posted 27 Aug 2014 , 8:30am
post #8 of 22
Quote:
Originally Posted by MyMacka 
 

Yeah, no kidding a fortune...the marzipan alone is $100.00 and I still have to make it and the rest of the cake
But since this cake is gratis...yes FREE...as it is for my sons wedding,  I am trying my best to be both practical and diplomatic 

They want a chocolate sponge with chocolate mousse filling and some sort of fruit...raspberry? 

I will suggest the white chocolate ganache. It could work!

(Did I mention they want this cake is all organic and non-GMO too?)

I guess this is good practice for when I open my shop, eh???
Tough stuff.
You guys are great.

Thank you thank you thank you...

Macka

 

It might be good practice to stiffen your spine, and explain what you can and can't do.

 

Do you have any experience working with marzipan? Will marzipan taste any good with chocolate and raspberry? I quite like marzipan, but I know many people don't - will it be eaten?

 

Plus, she realises that marzipan is a dirty tan kind of colour? Is that the look you're going for?

Feel free to just say, 'I'm not confident I can make that look and taste good. Here's your choices for what I can do.'

 

Otherwise they're free to go pay for someone make it, right?

 

Edited to say, I don't know where you live, but here, *every* non-cake person I talk to calls fondant 'marzipan'. Are you sure you're on the same page with what marzipan actually is? If someone insisted they wanted marzipan here, I'd definitely be doing a taste test with them as well.

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scrumdiddlycakes Posted 27 Aug 2014 , 9:17am
post #9 of 22

AOrganic, non-gmo, and marzipan... you should have just bought her dress and called it a day, lol.

You can mix fondant and marzipan, it keeps the marzipan flavor, but is very workable. It's sweeter than straight marzipan of course, though.

My advice, put your foot down. It doesn't sound like you've had experience covering with marzipan before, and it's not as easy as fondant. Give her options you are confident you can execute well, and tell her she needs to pick from those. Don't over promise and get in over your head, that's how people end up on cake wrecks :p

Perhaps you could do white modeling chocolate?

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MyMacka Posted 27 Aug 2014 , 12:18pm
post #10 of 22

Her mom’s buying the dress… I'm buying the flowers.

And THEIR cake is definitely going to be a chocolate cake and I am somehow going to cover it with marzipan - the kids have been talking about that for 3 years!

I personally think chocolate/raspberry/almond flavor will be "just ok” - not my choice - but it certainly seems to be theirs

 

I don’t claim to be an expert on anything, but I do make homemade marzipan fruits for my son for Christmas every year (it is his favorite candy of all time) and how it got to be his favorite was that when he was little, he would always snitch the marzipan scraps from my cake covering endeavors and thought I didn’t know.

 

So now, I just make extra whenever I cover a cake and try to keep a roll in the freezer, but that gets munched whenever any of my kids or grandkids come over.

My son makes a beeline for the freezer whenever he walks in the door “just checking” if I have any in there (evil brat). The marzipan is always gone so fast that I think the kids have no idea it has the capacity of being able to dry out.

 

So, yes, I am almost certain they know what it is and that it is beige - but I think they have ZERO clue that it will dry out or won’t take color evenly, and that is only because I have hand painted those marzipan fruits for the past 30 years - which is, of course, an entirely different thing than covering a cake with it.

.

Most of my brides seem to like the smooth look of fondant but almost all of them hate the taste.

Truly, most of it winds up in the trash can as people around here just won't eat it.  They eat the cake and dump the fondant. - even homemade (it kills me).

I will say they eat more of my home made fondant than they do the Satin Ice (small comfort).

 

Anyway, whenever I have covered a cake with marzipan, I have always covered it with something else too, hence my dilemma.  I just can't see it working as the "finish" on a cake.

 

I have really tried to explain the challenges of what they want vs what I can do.

The bride specifically made me promise not to make one of those "awful, giant, white things that are in all the bride magazines."

 

However, I think I may have finally gotten through to her as she (just today) said if they got their chocolate/raspberry/almond cake on the inside, then she really didn’t care what I did with the rest of it.

 

So that being said, I may just make their cake how they want it and make some different flavors of "kitchen cakes" which will enable them to offer their guests a bit of a choice.  I REALLY hope that solves it.

.

As always, thanks for all your input and support

And, if anyone has an epiphany, let me know!!!

Macka

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-K8memphis Posted 27 Aug 2014 , 10:17pm
post #11 of 22

i haven't used marzipan in a while -- what if you cut out long skinny triangles and lapped them all around the cake from bottom border up over the edge -- like so many godets in a skirt? is ganache off the table? er i mean cake? for underneath?

 

if you do the triangles -- you'd have to experiment a bit to make it all proportional through out each tier -- by experiment i mean getting dummies and cutting out newspaper to get the right shapes for each tier --

 

can't say that's an epiphany but it's an idea and the reason i haven't worked with it in a while is because i love it as much as your kids do :-D too many calories 

 

hey i got another one-- make marzipan raspberries! i have a mold i got on etsy -- and i always thought marzipan takes color like a champ-- i did a pair of black converse with it-- perfect texture for canvas -- and HIDE THEM -- do not let on they are even being made srsly though :-D

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-K8memphis Posted 27 Aug 2014 , 10:19pm
post #12 of 22

hey how big is this cake? what about a flourless raspberry chocolate cake???

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mcaulir Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 7:49am
post #13 of 22

What about a naked cake with your traditional marzipan fruit as decoration?

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MyMacka Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 6:29pm
post #14 of 22

You are all so wonderful.

You have inspired me!

 

It's as big or small as I want to do it..

150 people (ish) but if I know these folk there will be more like 300

We invited 20 people to a birthday party to a 2 year olds birthday party - more than 75 showed up to "share the experience.."

I am already expecting this.

 

Bride is an "earth sprite" kind of person  Wispy and beautiful...outdoors-y.

Barefoot wedding in the grass, flowers in the hair, elf ear earrings. flute music

But execution of above is really inspired

 

I had already thought of using berries and leaves on it as it is a fall forest theme (to avoid the "awful, giant white thing...) but uninspired to this point.

 

Maybe make a sort of marzipan forest!

Maybe use ganache.. or the marzipan in it's natural color as a forest floor?  Wonder if I can emboss marzipan as I do fondant??  Maybe???  Pine cone mold, berry mold leaves and twig molds.for background  Might work...will make a test on covered cake board. I think I am only going cover around the edge of cake/board,, not under cake, because that stuff is so pricey

Or maybe even look at chocolate ganache for frosting (?) with marzipan leaves, mushrooms, etc etc

 

No "bride and groom"  Male/female fairy under leaf for topper??? 

 

Wow scary...could be beautiful...could be a GIANT cake wreak,

but if I pull it off...

Wow!

,

Thanks!

Macka

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-K8memphis Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 6:38pm
post #15 of 22

Ayou sound like you've gotten inspired -- great news!

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MyMacka Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 6:48pm
post #16 of 22

INSANE is more like it!!!!!

Will keep you posted...

:-)

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MBalaska Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 7:38pm
post #17 of 22

The suggestion of White chocolate ganace, with lots of your already beloved marzipan fruits and decorations on top, making the 'earth sprite' type cake sounds lovely.

 

You're trying to be diplomatic, but you also have to be realistic.  Others may be acting insane, but you can keep a cool head, stick to what's possible, and be a rock-of-Gibralter in the cake matter.  I look forward to seeing your beautiful creation!

Cheers,

mb

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-K8memphis Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 7:48pm
post #18 of 22

Ai think you're right! :D what we won't do for our kids huh--

oh awesome -- i'd love to know how it's going-- like how do you know what's gmo free and all organic -- do they have almonds like that and raspberries? they've got to do [I]something[/I] to those raspberries to get them to last long in the grocery store --

you're making me wanna make one of these cakes -- I have this wild idea to place a marzipan raspberry on the edge of the flourless cake -- place the long triangle so that one edge is resting on the raspberry and repeat all the way around -- kind of like a black forest cake has the chocolate triangles resting on the cherries but the marzipan would lay flatter on one side and flow over the edge of the cake --

i'm not rose beranbauns' bff but she makes an outrageous chocolate oblivion flourless cake -- http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/000287.html

and in her book the cake bible -- she has a raspberry version that is to die for--srsly -- the cake is[B] three[/B] ingredients --

and i think i would do each cake on it's own stand phooey on dowels -- got so much invested already--

great good luck and lots of cake angels --

you are keeping your schedule really really light other than the cake yes?

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MyMacka Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 8:10pm
post #19 of 22

Yes...am old grandma lady...nothing to do (ha!) but watch grandbabies and bake wedding cakes

Non GMO is not really all that difficult to find..I go to local co-op and they have all ingredients...just major bucks is all..and white sugar is not a true white but oh well..at least the almonds are not "gassed."

 

I am still making SOME thing out of Mexican paste and fondant as that is just the way they are done,,, and tough bunz for whomever.. I will let them know whats what on the cake though...

 

Yeah...kids are a caution alright...some days more than others...

But my son waited 32 years to get married so I guess I should REALLY celebrate this one, eh???

We already have a beautiful granddaughter (age 3). She looks EXACTLY like a fairy.(little "see through" person just like her mom and HUGE eyes..)

They are going to give her wings for the wedding (OMG!!! ...to die for cuteness!)

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-K8memphis Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 8:17pm
post #20 of 22

awwww too sweet! that sounds adorable

 

mine were 34 and 28 when they got married so i feel yah!

 

best to you all -- keep me/us posted

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MyMacka Posted 28 Aug 2014 , 8:22pm
post #21 of 22

You bet!

Couldn't have even thought of it without the support I got here!

Thanks again

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melisa73 Posted 1 Dec 2016 , 12:24pm
post #22 of 22

Just saw this thread and I was wondering what the finihsed cake looked like and what everyone thought of it?

Thanks

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