Indulgence Stopped in its Tracks.

Last night a little after midnight, I crawled into bed with a little box that I hoped would hold big delights. In one hand was the box and in the other was a small fork. The box contained something I have never had, but had heard about often. It was a Princess Cake from Ettore's, which is a three layer vanilla sponge cake filled with raspberry preserves and pastry cream. Then it is covered with whipped cream and covered with smooth marzipan. It was a slice from a cake that looked just like this: The cake was moist and the crumb was amazing. The smooth layer of raspberry melded with the whip cream (my favorite) and delivered the perfect hint of flavor over the vanilla cake. It was heavenly. It was deadly. It was almost sinful. I had saved the best part for last. Marzipan is one of my favorite confections because it is not only tasty, but pliable and easy to make into many different shapes. It's also very smooth when made right. There I was in bed having finished the cake off and ready to delve into the marzipan. One bite of the marzipan ruined the experience. It was gritty and tasted like someone had dropped some lime flavor in it. I have never had marzipan taste or feel like that, and I have had some inexpensive marzipan before. It got me to wondering how hard it would be to make a princes cake that included all the wonderful elements of their cake and a fabulous marzipan that would not make a person gag. This is going to be my next big project as I know it will not be easy at all. I have worked with marzipan before, but never on a grand scale or rolled out. Once I complete my trials, I will need some tasters.