Embrace your inner chocolatier by trying your hand at marzipan chocolates. They feature a soft marzipan center, snappy chocolate shell, and almonds on top!
Chocolate covered marzipan is an easy way to try your hand at candy-making without having to master complex techniques. The main focus of this recipe is tempering the chocolate. Tempering chocolate involves heating and cooling to stabilize the chocolate. As a result, the chocolate has a shiny, glossy appearance, doesn’t quickly melt on your fingers, and has that light, satisfying snap when you bite into it. As for the marzipan, you can easily make your own with finely ground almond flour, confectioners’ sugar, almond extract, and water, or purchase some at the grocery store.
Why You’ll Love Marzipan Chocolates
Complementary flavors – The chocolates’ greatness lies in their simplicity. They feature a familiar duo: chocolate and nuts, but it is done well. The chocolate is rich, complex, and moderately bitter, which pairs nicely with the almond-forward sweetness of marzipan.
Beautiful presentation – These candies look like they came straight from a gourmet chocolate shop. Each marzipan chocolate candy is glossy with a uniform shape, and the almonds on top provide a bit of color contrast for visual interest. You can’t beat a hard chocolate shell, soft melt-in-your-mouth marzipan, and crunchy nuts. They are just so pretty!
They require three ingredients – Yes, you can make homemade chocolates with just three simple ingredients! Who knew?
Traditional Christmas candy – Serving marzipan candies during the holidays is not only a tradition for many families but it also brings joy with each sweet bite. Plus, they make for gift gifts during the holidays.
Save money and time – Avoid the holiday lines at See’s Candy and other candy stores and save money by making these easy marzipan chocolates at home.
Marzipan Chocolates Ingredients Notes
- Chocolate: Marzipan is quite sweet, so dark chocolate is the way to go. 70% dark is best because its bitterness isn’t overwhelming.
- Marzipan: Make it yourself or use store-bought. I find homemade marzipan much more enjoyable since it is made with simple ingredients, no unnecessary additives, and the sweetness isn’t overwhelming.
- Almonds: A pinch of finely chopped almonds garnishes each marzipan chocolate. The almonds also serve as a textural element.
The complete ingredients list with amounts is in the recipe card below!
How to Make Marzipan Chocolates
- Prepare the marzipan: If you don’t have marzipan, make some with almond flour, sugar, almond extract, and water. After the marzipan has time to chill and firm up, shape tablespoon portions into equal-sized balls. You can also experiment with other shapes; balls are just the easiest and quickest.
- Chop the chocolate: You want a fine chop to encourage the chocolate to melt quickly and evenly.
- Temper the chocolate: This process involves heating and cooling it to stabilize it.
- Coat the marzipan in chocolate: Place the marzipan on a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil and pour the chocolate over the marzipan. The excess chocolate will drip off, so you don’t get a thick chocolate shell.
- Add the almonds: Quick! Sprinkle them on before the chocolate hardens!
- Set and eat: The chocolate will set in about 5 to 10 minutes. Once it sets, marzipan chocolates are ready to eat.
Variations, Substitutions, and Cooking Tips
Add flaked sea salt – A pinch of flaked sea salt on top of each with the almonds makes the flavors of the chocolate pop and works with the bitterness of the chocolate to balance the sweetness of the marzipan.
Switch up your garnish – Instead of almonds, top each marzipan chocolate with another nut, colorful sprinkles or nonpareils, edible metallic dust or flowers, or a gold leaf (when you’re feeling extra fancy).
Make it fruity – Another fun way to mix things up is with dehydrated fruit, specifically dehydrated strawberries. If you’ve ever had some, you know that they have a robust strawberry flavor and are rather tart. To use them, crush dehydrated strawberries into a powder, then sprinkle them over the marzipan chocolates before the chocolate sets.
Always use a thermometer – You can try to go by the look of the chocolate, but tempering chocolate without a thermometer is very hit or miss. The only way to ensure accuracy is by monitoring the temperature.
Temper chocolate in the microwave – If you don’t want to go the traditional route with a double boiler, temper chocolate in the microwave by adding 2/3 of the chopped chocolate to a microwave-safe bowl. Then, set your microwave to 50% power and microwave the chocolate in 1-minute intervals until it reaches 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit. From there, slowly stir in the remaining chocolate until completely melted and continue to stir until the temperature of the chocolate cools to 84-89 degrees Fahrenheit.
Storage and Freezer Tips
Store marzipan chocolates in an airtight container at room temperature; you can individually wrap them. Keep the container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks. Be sure to keep the chocolates away from any heat or moisture. They can also be refrigerated, but it isn’t necessary. For refrigeration, store the chocolates in an airtight container or at least wrap the marzipan chocolates so they don’t absorb other food odors.
Marzipan Chocolates
Embrace your inner chocolatier by trying your hand at marzipan chocolates. They feature a soft marzipan center, snappy chocolate shell, and almonds on top!
Ingredients
Chocolates
- 12 ounces marzipan, homemade or store bought
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, 70% preferably)
- 2 ounces almonds, finely chopped
You will also need:
- Candy or instant-read thermometer
- Double broiler or equivalent
Instructions
- Place a wire rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper.
- Roll tablespoons of marzipan into equal-sized balls and place them onto the wire rack. Ensure that they are evenly spaced.
- Finely chop the dark chocolate using a sharp knife.
- Add 2/3 of the chocolate to a double boiler or a heat-safe bowl placed over a saucepan or small pot with an inch or two of simmering water. If using the bowl and saucepan/pot, ensure that the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
- Stir the chocolate until melted and heat until it reaches 115 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Remove from the heat and gradually add the remaining third of the chopped chocolate as you vigorously stir until the chocolate temperature decreases to 84 degrees. This can take as long as 12 minutes, so be patient.
- Return the chocolate to the heat and bring the temperature to 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not let it exceed 91 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Pour the tempered chocolate over the marzipan, then sprinkle almonds on top. Leave the chocolate shell to set for 5 minutes or so. Enjoy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 172Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 23mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 2gSugar: 18gProtein: 2g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.
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