Marzipan is a sweet, pliable confection made from finely ground almonds and sugar worked into a smooth, dense paste. Pale ivory to cream in colour, it is firm enough to roll, cut and sculpt yet soft enough to chew, with an intense almond richness underpinned by sugar. It is moulded into miniature fruits, animals and figures, rolled into sheets to cover and decorate cakes, layered through stollen and battenberg, and dipped in chocolate — a sweet that is as much a modelling material as a flavour.