Processed
Almond Paste
S tier
Almond paste is the coarser, higher-almond, lower-sugar cousin of modelling marzipan. It is meant to be baked in a frangipane, a bear claw, or a tart, not draped over a cake. The grain of the nuts still shows; the sweetness is less cloying. In some shops "almond paste" and "marzipan" are used loosely— this variety is the baker's filling. It browns and can weep oil in a hot oven if the formula is very rich. Do not roll it paper-thin as a cake skin; it will crack and taste under-sweet for that job. A good paste lists almonds first or close to first.
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History
Italian and French almond pastes filled tarts and festival breads long before decorative marzipan split off.
American bakers distinguished almond paste (filling) from sweet marzipan (modelling).
Bear claws and frangipane tarts made canned almond paste a bakery staple.
Ingredient lists pushed honest almond paste ahead of "marzipan" that was mostly sugar.