Marzipan Day in Sweden Date in the current year: January 6, 2025

Marzipan is a confection made from ground almonds (almond meal) and sugar or sugar syrup, sometimes flavored with almond extract or oil. Its exact origins are unclear: marzipan may have originated in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, or China, or perhaps in several regions simultaneously.

Marzipan has many uses. It can be used in confectionery (as the main ingredient in small marzipan figurines or as a filling in chocolate-covered pralines), as a baking ingredient in cookies, pastries, and sweet breads, as a cake icing, and to make cake decorations. When used as a cake glaze, marzipan is usually rolled into thin sheets that are used to cover the cake.

In Sweden and other Nordic countries, marzipan is a common ingredient in a wide variety of confections and cakes that are traditionally eaten during the Christmas and New Year’s season or around other holidays (for example, marzipan eggs, chickens and bunnies are popular around Easter). Some of the most popular Swedish confections with marzipan include:

• Marzipan pigs. Marzipan confections shaped as pigs are a traditional Christmas treat in Scandinavia, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. They are believed to bring good luck. In Sweden, there is a tradition of hiding an almond in the rice pudding (risgrøt) served during the Christmas season. Whoever finds it in their pudding gets a marzipan pig as a prize.
• Princess cake (prinsesstårta). Princess cake is a layered cake made of airy sponge cake, pastry cream and whipped cream. It is covered with a thin layer of marzipan, usually green, sprinkled with powdered sugar. Originally called green cake (grön tårta), it became known as princess cake because several Swedish princesses were said to be fond of this dessert.
• Krokan. Krokan is a traditional Swedish dessert consisting of thin decorative pieces of almond pastry assembled into a multi-tiered cake, joined with melted caramelized sugar and decorated with marzipan roses. Krokan is often served as a wedding cake in Sweden. Other types of wedding cakes are also often decorated with marzipan.
• Punsch-rolls (punschrulle). A punsch-roll is a small cylindrical pastry made from a mixture of crushed biscuit, butter, cocoa and punsch liqueur, covered with marzipan (usually green) and dipped in chocolate at the ends.
• Gustavus Adolphus pastry (Gustav Adolfsbakelse). It is a traditional pastry sold and eaten on Gustavus Adolphus Day, celebrated on November 6 to commemorate anniversary of the death of King Gustavus Adolphus the Great. Most versions of the pastry have the king’s portrait on top, usually made of marzipan or chocolate.

Given the popularity of marzipan in Sweden, it is not surprising that the country has a National Marzipan Day, albeit an unofficial one. It is celebrated annually on January 6.