Easy Marzipan Pumpkin Tutorial (again)

This post was originally from November, 2008. However since I have so many new readers (I love you new readers!) I thought I would share it again this week.  Here it is....

Easy Marzipan Pumpkin Tutorial

Marzipan pumpkins are so easy to make and a great decoration for fall cupcakes. It's a great way to impress your friends with minimal effort. All that it requires is marzipan, which is available on the baking aisle of your local grocery store, red and yellow food coloring and whole cloves.
Marzipan is a candy dough made from almonds. In other parts of the world cakes are usually covered entirely in marzipan, in the same way that we use fondant here in America.

To start on the pumpkins, tint the marzipan orange using the red and yellow food color. Simply need the colors in the dough. I use gel colors but you can also use the liquid dye colors. I added a small amount of corn starch to help it from being too sticky but you can also use some powdered sugar if it is sticking to your hands.

Next you simply roll the marzipan into a round ball the size that you desire the pumpkin to be.

Take a knife and make vertical marks 5 or 6 times around the ball by pressing the knife deep into the marzipan. You will finish shaping it later so it doesn't have to look perfect.

Now take one whole clove and press it into the top of the ball. When you press it in, the pressure on the clove will help shape the pumpkin. Leave a small amount of the clove's stem sticking out to make the pumpkin's stem.

Voila'. Festive and very easy pumpkin that even I can't mess up.