Almond paste is made from ground
almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...
s or
almond meal
Almond meal, almond flour or ground almond is made from ground sweet almonds. Almond flour is usually made with blanched almonds (no skin), whereas almond meal can be made with whole or blanched almonds. The consistency is more like corn meal t ...
and sugar in equal quantities, with small amounts of cooking oil, eggs, heavy cream or
corn syrup
Corn syrup is a food syrup that is made from the starch of corn/maize and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften Mouthfeel, texture, add vol ...
added as a binder. It is similar to
marzipan
Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.
It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...
, with a coarser texture. Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries, but it can also be found in chocolates. In a type of commercially manufactured almond paste called
persipan
Persipan (from ''Persicus'' (peach) and ''marzipan''; also known as Parzipan) is a material used in confectionery. It is similar to marzipan but, instead of almonds, is made with apricot or peach kernels. Persipan consists of 40% ground kernels ...
ground apricot or peach pits are added to save money.
Uses
Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries of many different cultures. It is a chief ingredient of the American
bear claw
A bear claw is a sweet, yeast-raised pastry, a type of Danish or Viennoiserie originating in the United States during the mid-1910s. In Denmark, a bear claw is referred to as a ''kam''Roufs, Timothy G., and Kathleen Smyth Roufs''Sweet Treats a ...
pastry. In the Nordic countries almond paste is used extensively, in various pastries and cookies. In
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
(where it is known as mandelmassa) it is used in biscuits, muffins and buns and as a filling in the traditional Shrove Tuesday pastry
semla
A , , Swedish eclair, /, , or is a traditional sweet roll made in various forms in Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and is used in Easter and Christmas sweets. In Denmark (where it is known as marcipan or mandelmasse), almond paste is used in several pastries, for example as a filling in the Danish traditional pastry ''
kringle
Kringle (, ) is a Northern European pastry, a variety of pretzel. Pretzels were introduced by Roman Catholic monks in the 13th century in Denmark, and from there they spread throughout Scandinavia and evolved into several kinds of sweet, salty o ...
''. In Finland almond paste is called ''mantelimassa''.
In the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, almond paste is called ''amandelspijs''.
In Germany, almond paste is also used in pastries and sweets. In German, almond paste is known as ''Marzipanrohmasse''.

It Italy it is known as "pasta di mandorle". The soft paste is molded into creative shapes by pastry chefs which can be used as cake decorations or to make
frutta martorana
(also called or, in Sicilian, ) is a Sicilian marzipan sweet in the form of fruits and vegetables from the provinces of Palermo and Trapani.
Realistically coloured with vegetable dyes, it is said to have originated at the Benedictine nun ...
.
Almond paste is the main ingredient of the traditional French ''
calisson
Calissons are a traditional French candy consisting of a smooth, pale yellow, homogeneous paste of candied fruit (especially melons and oranges) and ground almonds topped with a thin layer of royal icing. They have a texture similar to that of ...
'' candy in
Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
.
In Turkey, almond paste is traditionally made in
Edirne
Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...
.
See also
*
Rainbow cookie
Rainbow cookie or rainbow cake usually refers to a three-layered almond-flavored Italian-American cookie, but can also refer to any of a number of rainbow-colored confections.
Composition
Rainbow cookies are typically composed of layers of brigh ...
*
Marzipan
Marzipan is a confectionery, confection consisting primarily of sugar and almond meal (ground almonds), sometimes augmented with almond oil or extract.
It is often made into Confectionery, sweets; common uses are chocolate-covered marzipan and ...
References
Parsi Almond Fish
{{Portal bar, Food
Almonds
Food ingredients
Food paste
de:Marzipan#Marzipanrohmasse