Photo: nelea33 (Shutterstock)
The first time I made frangipane was in culinary school, and I remember thinking “Oh, this should go in everything.” It was so magical in flavor and texture that I immediately appreciated its potential, but expressing my awe was the culinary school equivalent of a teenager saying “You know, this Céline Dion lady is really talented.” Frangipane has been the star of many pastries and desserts for quite some time already, and she is incomparably talented. Once you get familiar with frangipane, you’ll be using it creatively in no time.
Frangipane is an aromatic, delicately sweet, and flavorful mixture of almond flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. From this base mixture, you can add extracts, salt, other seasonings, and even baking powder to give it a lighter crumb. You may also hear it referred to as “almond cream” interchangeably. Frangipane batter is thick, but not dense, and must be cooked. The eggs give the mixture a little lift and the butter provides a luxurious richness, but most of the flavor comes from the almond meal or added extracts. Although these ingredients sound like rather run-of-the-mill cake stuff, frangipane is an especially tender cake with an unmistakable almond flavor. The tender crumb is due to the naturally gluten-free nature of the batter. Occasionally you’ll see recipes that include a tablespoon or two of flour to strengthen the mixture, but it will still retain its soft texture.
Although frangipane is cake-like, it doesn’t have the same kind of structure that layer cakes have, so you’ll rarely see it baked in thick layers. Frangipane shines the most in small doses and as a surprise layer in larger desserts. Pithivier, or galette des rois, is a gorgeous dessert made of frangipane sandwiched between two layers of puff pastry. It’s unassuming in appearance, but once you slice it open you see an alluring, hidden layer of almond cake. Almond croissants are often hiding the same sweet secret. Many bakeries will split open plain croissants, fill and top them with frangipane, then close and toast them again. Others simply spread it on the raw croissant dough so the pastry bakes with the almond mixture diffused in between the layers of butter and dough.
Since frangipane puffs into a cake-like substance, you can use a light swipe to flavor and bind fluffy pastry, as in the pithivier and croissants mentioned above, or you could spotlight it as the filling in a tart. The walls of a tart shell provide enough support for the batter; usually you’ll see fresh fruits tucked in as well. Choose fruits that you enjoy paired with almonds, such as pears, cherries, apples, apricot and ginger, or blueberries. For a classic British dessert, try a bakewell tart. Spread a thin layer of jam into the par-cooked tart shell before filling it with frangipane. Frangipane has a high ratio of fat, so it has a tendency to melt-out if you add too much, or if it’s baked unsupported by other elements, like a pan or tart shell. If you want to bake it alone or experiment, make sure to use a cake pan, loaf tin, cupcake pan, or mini cupcake pan to give it shape and catch any spillage.
Making frangipane is straightforward, and doesn’t require any special equipment. Mix softened butter with sugar, almond flour, extracts (if using), and add the eggs last. Recipes that include all-purpose flour will normally have you add that as the final ingredient to help emulsify the eggs. I like to boost the almond flavor in pretty much everything I make, so this recipe adds a smidge of almond extract.
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Simple Frangipane
Ingredients:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened½ cup sugar1 ¼ cup almond flour½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon almond extract2 eggs, room temperature
Mix all of the ingredients together, in order. Use immediately in desserts, or cover and store in the fridge for up to a week. Return to room temperature before using.
