This soft and aromatic two-ingredient cake is made with only marzipan and eggs. It is probably the easiest cake you could make.
You will not believe that this 2-ingredient cake is only made with marzipan and eggs. It has no other ingredients, but it still tastes amazing, has a super consistency, and will look so good on your table.
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What is marzipan?
Marzipan is a popular confection in Germany and Western Europe, especially around Easter and Christmas. Stores are filled with marzipan balls, animals, and marzipan covered in chocolate. It's available year-round but especially abundant during holidays.
Made from ground almonds and sugar (or honey), marzipan is used for sweets and can be flavored with rose water or almond extract. French marzipan uses sugar syrup instead of icing sugar, giving it a lighter flavor.
In Germany, marzipan for covering cakes is sold in small blocks and is light beige, allowing it to be colored for decorations. Marzipan paste is also used to cover cakes before applying fondant, a common technique in the UK, though I don't use a marzipan layer under fondant.
What is the difference between marzipan paste and almond paste?
Marzipan is not to be confused with almond paste, and normally, you should not substitute one for another. But you can substitute almond paste for marzipan to make this two-ingredient cake; it will not matter that much.
While they are both made of ground almonds and sugar, almond paste is coarser, contains much more almonds, and is less sweet.
As already mentioned, marzipan is used to make sweets and to cover cakes, while almond paste is normally used as an ingredient for cake fillings.
Recipe ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Try more marzipan recipes: Marzipan Pastries, Heidesand Cookies, or German Walnut Marzipan Cookies.
How to make a cake with two ingredients?
- Step #1: Cut the marzipan (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab) into small pieces.
- Step #2: Place them in the food processor/stand mixer. Add two eggs and start processing the mixture, adding the remaining eggs two at a time and mixing well in between. The mixture should be completely smooth.
- Step #3: Pour the mixture into the prepared springform and bake in the preheated oven at 350°F/ 180°C for 15 minutes.
- Step #4: Turn the heat down to 230°F/ 110°C and bake for 65-70 more minutes until lightly golden. Toothpick test!
- Step #5: Once baked, turn off the heat and leave it in the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Step #6: Remove from the oven and let rest in the springform for 10 minutes. Remove from the tin and let cool on a wire rack.
Good to know!
The baking time depends on your oven, so make sure you start checking soon enough, after about 50-55 minutes. When you insert a toothpick or skewer into the middle of the 2-ingredient cake, it should come out clean with no small crumbs sticking to it. If the toothpick is not yet clean, continue baking and check every 5 minutes or so.
Serve
This marzipan cake is so aromatic that you will not need anything else to enjoy it. The powdered sugar is purely decorative; you don't really need it. A small slice of it and a cup of coffee are just heaven!
However, you could serve many other delicious things on top or on the side.
My favorite topping is fresh strawberries; if we have guests, maybe a bit of whipped cream.
Otherwise, why not try other fresh berries, such as a blueberry sauce or cherry sauce?
Or try some roasted vanilla pears with yogurt or roasted cherries. A perfect fit as well.
2- Ingredient Marzipan Cake
Equipment
- Food processor
- springform 10 inches/ 26 cm diameter
Ingredients
- 14 oz marzipan
- 8 eggs
- powdered sugar and strawberries for decoration optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 180°C.
- Cut the marzipan into small pieces and place them in the food processor. Add the eggs two at a time and mix until you have a smooth paste with no lumps in it. Butter a springform and pour the batter into it.14 oz marzipan/ 400 g + 8 eggs
- Bake at 350°F/ 180°C for 15 minutes. Turn down the heat to 230°F/ 110°C and bake for 65-70 more minutes until lightly golden.
- Start checking after 50 minutes at 230°F/ 110°C by sticking a toothpick in the middle of the cake. It should come out clean, with no bits clinging to it. If there are still bits sticking to it, continue baking and check every 5 minutes.
- Rest: Turn off the heat and leave the cake another 10 minutes in the oven. Then, take it out, let it rest in the form for about 15 minutes, remove it from the form, and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar if you wish. Serve as suggested above.powdered sugar and strawberries for decoration
Nutrition
Mary Jane says
This cake is so disappointing. This is our second time trying it and it's always complete a fail. We followed the recipe to a T, and the mixture with 500 g marzipan and 8 eggs is completely runny ... Not the smooth paste described in the recipe. The cake does not end up looking like the picture at all. I would like to see a video of this recipe because there's no way it turns out like that. The second time, we tried to add less eggs and more marzipan to give it a bit more of a paste ... It was still a fail. If you want to buy a cake, I'd recommend baking a real cake, not this two ingredient nonsense
Adina says
Hi. I am sorry you had problems, I don't understand why, this recipe works every time, and as you can see in the reviews it worked for other people as well. The mix is runny before you bake it. Maybe you used the wrong marzipan? This is a paste not a candy or similar, it's used for baking purposes only.
Beth says
Unbelievable - I've never heard of a 2-ingredient cake before! What an amazing time-saver.
samantha says
I've baked this cake for my girlfriends and everyone loved it. Each wanted to have your recipe!