Marzipan
 

Any one know where I can buy ready made marzipan in halifax, NS?

And also ready made icing?

thanks

Re: Marzipan
 

Hi

I'm sure Ive seen Marzipan in the Bedford Superstore. I know for sure they sell the ready made icing. I'm going to Bedford Mall later today, Ill have a look for you.

SAW 04

Re: Marzipan
 

Never lived in NS but I did live in QC a few years back & love marzipan. Places I bought marzipan (not in cute little figurines, the malleable whitish paste) were usually in European delicatesens, sometimes even European butchers & deli's shops will carry it on their shelves. :eek:

Failing having any of the above within ready access, I would try the big department stores small 'food' sections/floor. I remember seeing tubes of the stuff on display in The Bay near the cookies and "quaint" mulled wine kits etc, it'll cost you more (probably) at a Department store then a bakery/deli type place, but if your desperate, I'm 90% sure they have the stuff in boxed tubes.

Re: Marzipan
 

Pete's Frootique, although it is only small packages. Apparently they stock it all year round, and get more of it and different makes in at Christmas.

Deborah

Re: Marzipan
 

Is there any real difference between marzipan and almond paste?

Almond paste is pretty easy to find I think.

Re: Marzipan
 

Almond paste is nicer! Marzipan/almond paste is easy to make as is royal icing. If you dont have the time or arent any good at making a smooth finish on the cake why not do what my mother always does, she sloshes it on fairly thick then uses a knife to make peaks and swirls, sticks a plaster snowman on top and calls it a snow scene. Loads of red ribbon round the sides so you dont have to worry about doing there. It looks great.

Re: Marzipan
 

As batty-x-ray said, icing is easy to make. However, if you really want the ready made stuff, I would be very surprised if supermarkets in Halifax did not carry it. Every North American supermarket I have ever been into has had a baking and cake decorating section that has included ready made icing.

If you ask a supermarket employee for directions, ask them where the ready made FROSTING is.

Re: Marzipan
 

Try coating your cake with Temazepam for a much calmer Christmas...... :D

Re: Marzipan
 

HI,

I looked at the recipes for almond paste and icing in my Be-Ro flour cook book (from the mother-in-law) but unfortunatley, being 35 weeks pregnant , I cant eat raw eggs and they both contain raw eggs , so i could ice the cake but just stare at it for 5 weeks watching everyone else eat it! so i figured ready made stuff will have some form of pastuerised egg powder in.

anyway, a trip to pete's today. Superstore defiantly dont sell it, after confusing 3 male member of staff, they then directed me to the cake counter where the nice lady said they didnt get any in this year. tried sobeys too, no luck.

thanks for all your suggestions

Re: Marzipan
 

Safeways def have almond paste.... saw it yesterday.

Re: Marzipan
 

I too saw it at Safeway on Saturday. But Canada Safeway goes only as far east as Ontario, so is not represented in Halifax, NS.

Re: Marzipan
 

Oh right .... didn't know that. I rather thought that Safeway was world-wide .... got one in Wimborne! :p

Re: Marzipan
 

Are you asking for marzipan, or almond paste?

Re: Marzipan
 

I always thought it was the same thing too, just the "Americanised" and "European" names for them. The taste and texture are almost identical, only thing I could think of which might be different is if flavouring (like vanilla essence) is added in to marzipan in small portions.

Re: Marzipan
 

http://www.pastrywiz.com/season/marzipan.htm

this has a recipe for cooked marzipan that doesnt use egg,

http://www.marzipancakes.com/recipes.htm

this one has egg but its cooked.

http://www.kitchengifts.com/royalicing.html

this one has recipe for royal icing but no eggs

i have seen pasteurised egg whites in the shops, Loblaws probably

have a good christmas

Re: Marzipan
 

Finally found an answer Iain... Almond Paste has less sugar content then marzipan acording to Wikipedia:

"In the U.S., marzipan is not officially defined, but it is generally made with a higher ratio of sugar to almonds than almond paste[6][7]. One brand, for instance, has 28% almonds in its marzipan, and 45% almonds in its almond paste"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzipan

(Personally I could never tell the difference between what was labeled 'Almond Paste' and what was labeled marzipan/marzapane) :o

Re: Marzipan
 

You can get it from Sobeys (ask at the bakery section) as well as Pete's Frootique in Bedford. They just unpacked a container so have lots of new things, including suet and Cadbury's drinking choclate on the shelves.

Re: Marzipan
 

I only ask because I have hardly ever seen "marzipan" (except for those yummy dutch chocolate coated marzipan treats:) ), but I've never have a problem finding almond paste, which I never knew existed until I came here.

If you ask for marzipan you might get the blank look, you might have more joy asking for almond paste,its generally in the large baking supplies section, alongside all the pots and tubes of premade icing (which you have to call frosting to be understood)

My guess is the stuff is here, you just have to ask for it by the canadian name.

I dont think the slight difference between the two will matter much, unless you have a very wierd shaped cake to ice and need the extra flexibility of marzipan to do it.

Re: Marzipan
 

You can also try the Gingerbread Haus bakery at Queen and Fenwick. If I remember they make little shapes and figures out of marzipan during holiday seasons.

Re: Marzipan
 

Good News

I now have 3 packs of almond paste courtesy of Pete's! it came in today which will explain why i couldnt find it on saturday in there!

Thanks for the recipes without raw eggs, much appreciated. best get icing!

Merry Xmas