Marzipan Seafood

Doesn't that seafood look real? It's not. It's made from marzipan and then handpainted.



Marzipan is called Pasta Reale, or royal paste, in Sicily because it was made in the kitchens of the great nobles and the confectioner-friars of Mantorana di Palermo; it's the base of many of Sicily's renowned pastries and cakes. It's made from top quality almonds, ground, and an equal weight of sugar, together with a little cinnamon water. The mixture cooks in untinned copper pots and is shaped by artisans while still warm, into the most varied shapes, from fruit to fish to little lambs at Easter. The finished sculptures are painted with food dies, and baked briefly in a slow oven.