Why use marzipan and other nut-based products in baking?
The biggest enemy of traditional whipped cream is time and temperature. Dairy cream tends to “weep” (leak water) or deflate after a few hours, especially in warm environments.
Superior stability and shelf life: whippable toppings are often formulated with vegetable fats that hold their structure even in warm display conditions. They can often also be freeze-thaw stable, without the cracking, splitting or losing texture, a crucial advantage for high volume bakeries who prepare in advance.
Maximum yield: whippable toppings offer superior overrun (the amount of air incorporated into a liquid during whipping) over dairy cream. They often achieve up to 400% overrun, which offers excellent cost-in-use benefits in finished applications.
Aesthetic perfection and workability: because of their structural integrity, whippable toppings are a decorator’s dream. Sharp piping characteristics and smooth masking enhance visual appeal.
Beyond tasting like nuts, these products perform specific jobs in the chemistry of the bakery product:
Moisture retention: Nuts are high in oils and proteins. When almond paste or marzipan is incorporated into a cake batter (like a Dundee cake or a heavy fruit cake), the nut oils coat the flour proteins and trap moisture. This significantly extends the shelf life, keeping the cake moist for weeks.
Texture and “shortness:” In biscuits and cookies, adding ground nuts or nut pastes interferes with gluten development. This creates a “shorter,” more tender, and sandy crumb (as seen in Viennese whirls or sablés).
Structural barrier: A layer of marzipan is often placed on top of a fruit cake before icing it with fondant or royal icing. This acts as a seal, preventing the dark moisture and oils from the fruit cake from bleeding into and staining the pristine white icing.
Professional pastry chefs utilise a range of other nut-based products beyond marzipan. Praline paste, a blend of caramelised sugar and nuts and Gianduja, a combination of chocolate and hazelnut paste or delicious and functional ways to incorporate nuts into bakery products.
How can Bakels marzipan and other nut-based products help you?
Bakers seeking reliable marzipan solutions can rely on Bakels to provide an assortment of traditional products, coupled with the capability to manufacture market-leading flavoured nut product innovations.
While marzipan is commonly used in Battenberg and other traditional products, Bakels are pushing the boundary of how marzipan can be used. From bitesize snack formats to on-the-go bar applications, we help manufacturers incorporate the popular nut product into growing categories and finished products.
