. The day before, soak the whole raw almonds in hot water and bring to a boil. As soon as the skins start to loosen easily, remove from the heat.

Drain the almonds in a colander and run them under cold water to cool slightly. Peel the almonds, rinse them, and let them drain overnight if possible. They should be completely dry.

Once the almonds are dry, prepare the syrup by combining the water, granulated sugar, and vanilla sugar (or almond extract) in a saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a boil, and as soon as the sugar is completely dissolved with no grains remaining, remove from the heat and let it cool.

Pulse the almonds for the first time with a little powdered sugar. Do this in batches if you don’t have a food processor or Thermomix.

Once all the almonds are ground, mix them thoroughly with the remaining powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Pulse a second time until you get a smooth, uniform dough.

Place the dough in a mixing bowl.

Strain the syrup, then add it to the almond paste in two or three portions, mixing well after each addition.

Knead the almond paste well on a clean surface until you get a smooth, pliable paste that won’t tear if you want to roll it out.

If you want to color the paste, divide it into portions. Add the coloring gradually, kneading well as you go. If using powdered food coloring, mix it with 1 teaspoon of syrup before incorporating it into the almond paste, then knead thoroughly.

Once the almond paste is smooth and uniform, shape it into rolls and wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.

Place the rolls in Ziploc bags and store the almond paste in the refrigerator for up to a month.

This Marzipan will serve you well in pastry, perfect for filling or decorating cakes such as in french fraisier cake or German stollen.