ingredients
makes 1 pound
1 pound white marzipan
yellow, green, red, orange and burgundy food colouring dusts
2 tbsp whole cloves
method
1. Cover a baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. Cut the marzipan into quarters. Take 1 piece and cut it into 10 even-size pieces. Place a little of each of the food colouring dusts into a food paint palette, or place small amounts spaced apart on a plate. Cut 2/3 of the cloves into 2 pieces, making a stem and core end.
2. Shape the 10 pieces into a neat ball. Dip 1 ball into the yellow food colouring and roll to colour. Re-dip into the green colouring and re-roll to tint a greeny-yellow colour. Roll one end to
make a pear shape. Press a clove stem into the top and a core end into the base. Repeat with the remaining balls. Place on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Cut another piece of the marzipan into 10 pieces and shape into neat balls. Dip each piece of marzipan into the green food colouring dust and roll in the palms to colour evenly. Add a spot of red colouring dust and roll gently to blend the colour. Using a ball tool or the end of a fine paintbrush, indent the top and base to make an apple shape. Make a stem and core, using cloves.
4. Repeat as above, using another piece of the marzipan to make 10 orange coloured balls. Roll each over the surface of a fine grater to give the texture of an orange skin. Press a clove core into the base of each.
5. Take the remaining piece of marzipan, reserve a small piece, and mould the rest into lots of tiny marzipan beads. Colour them burgundy with the food colouring. Place a whole clove on the baking sheet. Arrange a cluster of burgundy beads in the shape of a bunch of grapes. Repeat with the remaining burgundy beads of marzipan to make another 3 bunches of grapes.
6. Put the remaining piece of marzipan thinly and brush with green food colouring. Using a vine leaf cutter, cut out 8 leaves, mark the veins with a knife and place 2 on each bunch of grapes. Leave the fruits to dry, then pack into gift boxes.
