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Orange marzipan sweets arranged on a plate.

Marzipan Pumpkins Recipe

Sweet and colourful Marzipan Pumpkins give traditional Sicilian almond sweets a playful Halloween twist, with homemade marzipan shaped into miniature pumpkins inspired by classic Martorana confections.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian, Sicilian
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Drying Time 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings: 18 pumpkins
Author: Manuela Zangara

Ingredients

For the Marzipan

  • 250 g – 2 ½ cups almond meal – ground almonds
  • 500 g – 4 cups icing sugar
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 tsp – 5 ml almond essence

For the Marzipan Pumpkins

  • yellow liquid food colouring – as needed
  • red liquid food colouring – as needed
  • 18 whole cloves – 1 per pumpkin

Instructions

Make the Marzipan

  1. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form.
  2. Place the beaten egg whites, almond meal, and icing sugar in a saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
  3. Transfer the mixture to a clean work surface and leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Once cool enough to handle, knead it into a smooth dough.
  4. Add the almond essence and knead until evenly incorporated.

Shape and Decorate the Pumpkins

  1. Add a few drops of yellow and red food colouring. Knead until the marzipan turns an even orange colour.
  2. Divide the marzipan into approximately 18 equal portions and roll each into a ball.
  3. Use a toothpick or modelling tool to make vertical indentations around each ball. Gently press down on the top of each pumpkin with your index finger.
  4. Insert a whole clove into the centre of each pumpkin to make the stem.
  5. Arrange the pumpkins on a tray and leave them to dry for one hour. Decorate with icing and allow it to set before serving.