Marzipan is a sweet paste made from ground almonds and sugar. Older recipes, and many learner dictionaries, also mention egg, usually egg white, to bind it; plenty of packets you buy now do not list egg at all, so “always contains egg” is tidier than the shop shelf.

Marzipan杏仁膏 is a sweet paste made from ground almonds and sugar用磨碎的杏仁和糖做成，是一種甜糊。Older recipes, and many learner dictionaries比較舊的食譜，還有很多給學習者看的字典，also mention egg, usually egg white也會提到蛋，通常是蛋白，to bind it用來把它黏合在一起；plenty of packets you buy now不過你現在買到的很多包裝 do not list egg at all其實完全沒有列蛋，so所以 'always contains egg'「一定有加蛋」這種說法 than比 the shop shelf架上的實際情況 is tidier更乾脆。

You roll it, cut it, and colour it. Two jobs show up again and again: covering a cake in a smooth pale layer — a British Christmas cake is the famous picture — and modelling little fruits, animals, or roses that look too pretty to eat. It tastes of sweet almond, not of chocolate and not of plain icing.

You你 roll it把它擀開、cut it切開、and colour it還幫它上色。Two jobs show up again and again最常見的用途有兩種：covering a cake in a smooth pale layer把蛋糕包上一層平滑淡色的表層——a British Christmas cake is the famous picture英國聖誕蛋糕是最有名的例子——and modelling little fruits, animals, or roses還有捏出小水果、小動物，或玫瑰花，that look too pretty to eat漂亮到讓人捨不得吃。It它 tastes of sweet almond吃起來是甜杏仁的味道，not of chocolate不是巧克力味，and not of plain icing也不是原味糖霜的味道。

Fondant, the shiny sugar paste on many birthday cakes, is a different thing: mostly sugar, no almonds.

Fondant翻糖, the shiny sugar paste on many birthday cakes也就是很多生日蛋糕上那種亮亮的糖膏, is a different thing是不同的東西：mostly sugar主要是糖，no almonds沒有杏仁。

In a Taiwan bakery the same paste is what people reach for when they say 杏仁膏; it is not 杏仁豆腐, which is a soft jelly dessert.

In a Taiwan bakery在台灣的麵包店，the same paste同一種糖膏 is what people reach for when they say 杏仁膏就是大家說「杏仁膏」時指的東西；it is not 杏仁豆腐它不是「杏仁豆腐」，which is a soft jelly dessert那是一種軟軟的果凍甜點。

The word is also used, a little playfully, for anything that looks like that pale almond paste. You may meet a verb, to marzipan a cake, meaning to cover it with this paste, but the noun is the one students actually need.

The word這個字 is also used, a little playfully也會被半開玩笑地用來 for anything that looks like that pale almond paste指任何看起來像那種淡色杏仁糊的東西。You may meet a verb, to marzipan a cake你可能會遇到一個動詞，也就是 to marzipan a cake，meaning to cover it with this paste意思是幫蛋糕包上這種糖膏，but the noun is the one students actually need但學生真正需要的其實是名詞這個用法。