Classic French Frangipane

An overhead view of a large flat bowl full of swirled frangipane with scattered almonds around the plate.

Frangipane is a classic French almond flavored custard made from a 1:1 ratio of almond cream and pastry cream. It makes a delicious filling for pies, tarts and cookies, often in combination with fruit.

Course Baking

Cuisine French

Keyword Baked goods, Dessert, Sauce

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 8

Total Time 23

Servings cups

Calories 496kcal

Equipment

small saucepan with pouring spout
whisk

Ingredients

almond cream

50 grams almond meal
50 grams white sugar
50 grams unsalted butter
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon almond extract*

pastry cream

50 grams egg yolk about 3 yolks
60 grams white sugar
25 grams cornstarch
¾ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean
250 ml whole milk
25 grams butter

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

almond cream

Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature.
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until homogenous.

pastry cream

Heat the milk over medium heat in a small saucepan until it's steaming, but make sure it doesn't bubble over or burn. **
In a bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar until blanched (it will turn white as air is incorporated)
Add the cornstarch and vanilla bean paste (if using) and again whisk together until homogenous.
When the milk is hot, slowly drizzle it over the egg and sugar mixture while whisking the whole time.
Once all the milk is in the bowl, pour all the contents back into the saucepan.
Heat over medium heat while whisking the whole time until the mixture thickens (usually 2-3 minutes but could be more). Nothing will happen, and then it will thicken very quickly.
Take off heat and mix in the butter.
Allow the pastry cream to cool for a few minutes and then combine the almond cream and pastry cream.

Notes

** Be very careful not to use too much almond extract or it can easily become overpowering/bitter.
* If using a whole vanilla bean, scrape the contents and add the pod to the milk before heating the milk. Remove the pod before pouring the milk over the egg and sugar mixture.

Nutrition