The Marchpane Knot Garden

Marchpane is an early form of marzipan which along with jellies would have dominated the 17th Century dessert table. Marchpane was a status feature and as such would be made into elaborate designs and even decorated with gold leaf in the wealthiest of houses.

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A classic banquet table would have centred around a marchpane in the form of a knot garden similar to the one above, made by historicfoods.com. Check out their beautiful gallery here. 

 

We drew our own inspiration from Zaphora's back garden in North London which is laid out exactly like this one but is currently in need of a winter tidy. Read about the history of knot gardens and find out how to plant one yourself (perhaps on a smaller scale). These designs will inspire you whether you plan to bake a knot garden or plant one.

Our design was of course made with salt dough, air-dryed overnight, painted and then sealed with a pva glue mixture (exact details to follow).

Remember to add some wholemeal flour for an authentic look.

Our finished result (below) looked like a beautiful tile.

A real marchpane would be made with marzipan (traditional recipe here) then glazed with fruit jellies and pastes for colour.

If you're the sort of person who peels marzipan out of their Christmas cake rather than eating it then the principal could perhaps be applied to a pastry dish with a little trial and error. A quick and easy snack for a school packed lunch.