Weave some good marzipan magic

January 12 is celebrated the world over as “Marzipan Day” and the date has more significance than most for Thea Tammeleht.

Thea, who hails from Estonia — the birthplace of marzipan — moved to India about three years ago. She found much that delighted her here, but what was undeniable, was just how much she missed the taste of authentic marzipan. One day, she thought, why not use her family’s generations-old recipe and create delectable marzipan right here in Mumbai Thus was created her label Nordic Kandie.

Thea began by procuring high quality ingredients from the places of their origin: handpicked mamra almonds from Iran, the finest chocolate from Belgium and edible gold and silver from Italy. She also decided to infuse a dash of desi influences to her hand-rolled creations, which led to flavours like anjeer, rose cardamom, mango chili. Of course, there are also more European flavours like black currant, green apple and raspberry lemonade.

Thea shared her recipe for marzipan with us. So go ahead and mix it up!

Ingredients: 1 cups almonds 1 cup powdered sugar Rose water, as required Natural colours (optional)

Method: Soak the almonds for a few hours or until you’re able to remove their skin.

You can also blanch the almonds if you are short on time: To blanch the almonds, place them in boiling water for exactly one minute. Drain the almonds immediately into a strainer and rinse them with cold water to cool them. Dry the almonds with a paper towel, then use your fingers to gently squeeze the almonds and loosen the skin.

Dry the almonds and, using a food processor, process them into crumbs. Add the powdered sugar and rose water and process the mix until clumps form.

Place the paste into a bowl and make sure it is mixed well. Form into a ball and add a drop or two of natural colour (based on the type and instructions from the provider).