Marzipan  —  massepain  —  is a paste made of ground almonds, sugar or sugar syrup and egg whites, cooked together. Coloured and flavoured, it is used mainly in confectionery to make sweetmeats or to be shaped into various garnishes for cakes, like flowers, fruits, vegetables, animals, etc.

Almond paste  —  pâte d'amandes  —  is made mixing equal amount of ground almonds and icing sugar, bound together with a little glucose syrup or egg white. Coloured and flavoured, it is used in decorating or covering cakes, as a filling in sweets or formed into various decorative shapes like marzipan.

Marzipan and almond paste are basically made of the same ingredients. The difference between the two is the amount of almonds used in proportion to other ingredients. Usually marzipan consists of about 30 % of almonds and 70 % of sugar. Being more pliable than almond paste, it is more suitable for rolling out and modeling. Almond paste consists of 50 % of almonds and 50 % of sugar. Higher almond content gives it a stronger flavour than marzipan.

See a recipe for making your own almond paste.