A delicacy made during both Christmas and Easter, marzipan with its interesting shapes and colours is a great choice.

Ingredients:

1 kg sugar
½ kg cashew nuts
White of 8 to 10 eggs (depending on size)
30 ml water and 2 to 4 ml rose essence or 30 ml rose water
3 to 5 ml almond essence (optional)

Method:

Grind the sugar, nuts, water and egg white into a thin paste in a blender.

Put the mixture into a thick bottomed pan on slow flame. Stir continuously. Increase to a medium flame very slowly if you can manage.

Bring to a bubbling boil to melt the sugar. Then reduce the flame but don't stop stirring.

Cook till it starts leaving the sides of the vessel. Run a spatula through the mixture. If the mixture takes a second or two to follow your spatula, you know it's done.

Pour into a flat thali. Spread out the mass to cool otherwise it will keep cooking with the heat inside.

Then add a little almond essence.

Divide the marzipan into portions and colour each portion as you please. Then mould the marzipan into attractive shapes with a mould.

Cooking Time: 1 hour