What Is Frangipane and Why Do Bakers Love It? (2024)

What Ingredients Are in Frangipane?

Frangipane is a pastry filling made with finely ground almonds or almond meal. It is sometimes referred to as almond cream. And, being more or less like a pie filling, frangipane is never consumed raw because it contains raw eggs.

Unlike marzipan and almond paste, frangipane is not widely available ready-made and off the supermarket shelf. This means that you have to make it yourself from scratch. But no worries, you don't need to be a trained pastry chef to make frangipane.

Types of Frangipane

There are different versions of frangipane. The classic French version is based on crème pâtissière, a thick, custard-like pastry cream made with eggs, milk, butter, flour, and sugar, which is then mixed with ground almonds. For a quick and easy no-cook frangipane, you can simply whip it up using butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. There is also the option to make frangipane vegan without eggs or dairy.

Can You Make Frangipane With Almond Paste?

Making frangipane using almond paste instead of ground almonds is not recommended. Recipes calling for frangipane require a specific balance between almonds, sugar, egg, and flour. Because almond paste already contains almonds and sugar, it will be difficult to create the same end result. It is much easier — and more economical due to the price of almond paste — to make frangipane from scratch.

What Is Frangipane and Why Do Bakers Love It? (1)

History of Frangipane

There are several theories about how and when frangipane was invented. Most sources attribute the idea to the Roman nobleman named Marquis Muzio Frangipani, whose family served as perfumers to King Louis XIII of France, who reigned from 1610 to 1643. All the fashion worn by nobility at the time was heavily scented, and gloves in particular. Frangipane introduced leather gloves that were intensely perfumed with bitter almond. These gloves à la Frangipani were such a hit that they later inspired French pastry chefs to incorporate the scent into a pastry cream. The recipe first appeared in a cookbook between 1674 and 1756 depending on the source you want to trust.

How to Use Frangipane

Frangipane is used in several European pastries, especially as a filling for tarts.

In French baking, it is used for the Epiphany cake called Galette des rois. It is traditionally baked on January 6 and contains a dried fava bean, which makes the person who finds the bean the king or queen. Note that some recipes use almond paste instead of ground almonds for the frangipane filling. Frangipane is also used to fill Pithiviers, a similar pie made of puff pastry with a distinct spiral or flower pattern.

A popular British specialty with frangipane is Bakewell tart, which is a variation of Bakewell pudding that originated in the town of Bakewell in Derbyshire, England.

Not attributable to a particular cuisine is Pear Frangipane Tart, which in the Italian variation becomes Pear and Frangipane Crostata.

How to Store Frangipane

Frangipane made with raw egg must be refrigerated and used as soon as possible, within the same day. Vegan frangipane, however, can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to one week or frozen for up to six months.

Our How to Make Frangipane article describes how to make frangipane three different ways, as well as storage guidelines for each version.

More Fun With Frangipane

What Is Frangipane and Why Do Bakers Love It? (2024)

FAQs

What Is Frangipane and Why Do Bakers Love It? ›

Frangipane, a spreadable paste made from almond flour, sugar, eggs, and almond extract, is a baker's secret weapon. Wildly versatile, aromatic, and rich, frangipane is one of the best (and easiest!) recipes in a baker's repertoire.

What is a frangipane? ›

Frangipane is a pastry filling made with finely ground almonds or almond meal. It is sometimes referred to as almond cream. And, being more or less like a pie filling, frangipane is never consumed raw because it contains raw eggs.

What is frangipane explained? ›

In essence, frangipane is an almond filling, sometimes called frangipane cream. It isn't the same as marzipan, which is an almond-sugar paste that's so dense it can be formed into decorative shapes and painted in bright colors.

What does frangipane taste like? ›

It's difficult to describe concisely but I describe frangipane as a creamy, velvety smooth filling with a rich, nutty, lightly sweet, FABULOUS flavor.

Does frangipane need to be refrigerated after baking? ›

You can store a pear frangipane tart at room temperature or in the fridge. Just note that if you refrigerate it, the crust will soften much quicker. I prefer to store it covered at room temperature for 3-4 days. It's possible to store the tart for a week, but the quality of the dessert diminishes as it softens.

Can you eat frangipane raw? ›

Because it contains raw egg and flour, frangipane is always baked before eating.

Is frangipane a custard or cake? ›

Frangipane is a simple custard, made in a food processor from nuts, butter, sugar, and eggs. The resulting gloop is slightly runnier than a paste but not so loose that it spills all over the place; you can easily spoon and spread it without making a mess.

What is frangipane similar to? ›

Frangipane Is A Creamy Filling With A Milder Flavor

While marzipan is similar to but distinct from almond paste, the same isn't true of frangipane and almond cream — they're one and the same. It involves ground almonds, just like marzipan, but that's where the similarities end.

Should frangipane be wet? ›

Tips: Frangipane is a classic dessert filling made with ground almonds which help to keep it moist when baked. The filling should be soft and have a damp crumb texture, more like a set custard than a fluffy sponge.

How to tell when frangipane is done? ›

As long as it has risen and browned slowly, you are near the end of the cooking time. How do you know when frangipane is cooked? The cream will have risen and puffed when properly cooked. It should have a nice golden color.

Are marzipan and frangipane the same thing? ›

Their purposes and textures, however, are very different, making them unable to be substituted with one another. While marzipan is a thick and sweet icing dough, frangipane is a creamy and lightly-sweetened filling.

What's the difference between frangipane and clafoutis? ›

Clafoutis is a cherry cake, and the crème frangipane is a crème pâtissière with almond cream (and some alcohol, as for me) that can be in the famous galette. The first is made of eggs, butter, a small amount of flour, sugar, milk and fresh cherries. Bake 40 minutes and eat it !

Is frangipane Italian or French? ›

Frangipane is a classic French filling for cakes, tarts, and pastries. It's made with butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds, so it's pretty similar to an almond paste.

What's the difference between frangipane and bakewell? ›

Frangipane is not an alternative to Bakewell tart, but instead one of the ingredients in a Bakewell tart, used for the filling. Frangipane is an Italian word, recorded in a confectioners dictionary as far back as 1732 and is thought to have come from Marquis Muzio Frangipani or Cesare Frangipani.

Is almond cream the same as frangipane? ›

Frangipane (also called almond cream) is a French almond paste that sounds fancy but is ridiculously easy to make and oh so flavorful. It was created in the 16th century by French pastry chefs, who were inspired by an almond-scented perfume an Italian nobleman created to perfume gloves in Paris.

Is frangipani the same as almond paste? ›

Almond paste is more similar to marzipan than frangipane, but it's still distinctly its own. It's made of the same ingredients as marzipan but it's less sweet and richer in almond flavor. It's a bit more crumbly and coarse-textured and is used in baked goods such as these pignoli cookies.

What is the flavor of frangipani? ›

The tart shell of the Frangipani is always almond flavored by either using almond flour, ground or chopped almonds or using almond paste which is actually marzipan. It usually has a jelly-lined bottom tart shell and can be any flavor.

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