Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi Scarlet
Last year I made quite a few nativity figures from marzipan, and there was no need to add anything like cmc to make it a bit firmer, which I would normally do with sugar paste. It’s personal taste, which you use, both work very similar, but maybe the marzipan sticks to itself easier, so you don’t need much glue/water. The marzipan takes colour very well too.
The only thing I did notice , was that the little figures did slump down slightly, so next time I’d make them a bit taller, and hopefully not end up with dumpy little figures 🙂

Hi Sharon. Thanks for that. Might be a silly question but does it mean just the marzipan you buy for cake covering or is something added to it?

Yes, just the sort you buy from the supermarkert, but I’m sure you could add a little cmc if you wanted 🙂

Hi Scarlett

I’ve used marzipan for modelling flowers, fruit and veg and small animals. It’s a lovely medium to work with although can be quite sticky. Marzipan doesn’t take colour very well, so if you’re buying ready made get the white one, there’s only a couple of pence difference in price. You can add gum tragacanth or tylose powder to stiffen it when making models. For smaller things I wouldn’t bother. Marzipan flowers are not going to be as fine as those made from flower paste or gumpaste, but it can still be thinned quite a bit in between two pieces of plastic or a food bag. Use only icing sugar with marzipan to stop it from sticking to your hands or work surfaces, it isn’t recommended using corn flour as this causes a chemical reaction called fermentation which makes the marzipan ‘bloom’. It has to do with moisture in the marzipan mixing with the flour. Other wise it’s lovely, have a go, you’ll enjoy it I hope. x

Thanks miwl and Sharon. I’m going to give it a go. I’m still fairly new to all this so have lots to learn but i’m enjoying every minute of it x