Frangipane
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This easy frangipane recipe is perfect for filling tarts or croissants! Nutty, buttery, & just sweet enough. Flavor it in all sorts of ways!
Today I’m sharing a filling recipe that every baker should have in their back pocket: frangipane!
If you’ve never heard of it, this is a nutty, buttery, lightly sweet concoction that can be used to fill all sorts of things, including tarts, Danish, and croissants.
It’s traditionally made with almonds but you can add any kind of nut or ground seed you like, and flavor it in many different and creative ways.
Just whip up a batch, put in into whatever, and bake ’til set!
It’s nice with all kinds of fruits from apricot to apple or pear to cherries, or just by itself. Here on Baking a Moment, I’ve used this in my Irish apple tarts and my rhubarb tart, and I’ve got big plans for almond croissants coming up soon!
Table of Contents
- What is frangipane?
- Why this is the best frangipane recipe
- What does frangipane taste like?
- Ingredients
- Special equipment
- How to make frangipane
- How to serve frangipane
- Expert tips
- Frequently asked questions
- A few more of my best topping recipes
What is frangipane?
Frangipane (pronounced: FRAN-ji-payne) is what I like to call a “building block” recipe, meaning it can be a component of many other things. You’ll often see it as a filling for tarts or croissants. And sometimes you may see it called by its fancy French name: creme d’amande.
Unlike many other fillings (such as pastry cream or lemon curd) this one should be baked in the oven rather than cooked on the stove.
It’s made primarily from ground nuts, butter, and eggs but can include other ingredients too.
Why this is the best frangipane recipe
- Tastes amazing: It’s buttery, rich, and just a little sweet, with lots of earthy, nutty flavor and texture.
- Few ingredients: You’ll only need a handful of basics to make it.
- Easy to make: It comes together in around 10 minutes tops, and everyone from a very beginner to a seasoned pro can nail it no problem.
- Versatile: Not only can you use it in lots of different ways, but it can also take all sorts of interesting flavors added to it.
What does frangipane taste like?
If you make this frangipane recipe according to the printable recipe card below (meaning no additional flavorings are added) you can expect to pick up on a toasty nuttiness, slight sweetness, and buttery richness. There’s also a subtle vanilla perfume.
Ingredients
Butter: Provides richness and flavor, as well as providing a medium to hold air. I prefer unsalted butter, since different brands could contain different amounts of salt. It’s best if your butter has been brought up to room temp before you start making this recipe (How to Soften Butter Quickly).
Sugar: Granulated white sugar is traditional but you can use another type of granulated sweetener if you like. As long as it swaps 1:1 it should work fine.
Salt: Balances and enhances all the flavors. I like kosher salt best because it’s cheap, easy to source, and doesn’t contain any bitter-tasting additives such as iodine.
Eggs: Help the filling to set up more firmly when baked, as well as adding richness. Use large chicken eggs (or a plant-based substitute), preferably at room temperature (although I don’t find this to be critical).
Flavorings: For what you see here, I’ve chosen a classic combination of vanilla extract and almond extract, but you can flavor this frangipane recipe in all sorts of different ways. More on that below!
Special equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons: Follow my guide on how to measure ingredients.
- Bowl: You’ll need a large mixing bowl in which to prepare the filling.
- Mixer: Either a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer.
- Silicone spatula: For folding everything together and getting every last bit out of the bowl.
How to make frangipane
This easy recipe comes together in 3 simple steps.
Step 1: Cream the butter
Place the softened butter, the sugar, and the salt in your mixing bowl and cream everything together, whipping until very pale, very fluffy, and doubled in volume.
This usually takes no less than 5 full minutes on medium-high speed.
Step 2: Work in the eggs and flavorings
Whip in the first egg until fully incorporated, then add the second egg along with any extracts, liqueurs, spices, or flavorings you might want to use.
Step 3: Fold in the nuts
Finally, add the ground nuts and fold everything together.
That’s all there is to it!
How to serve frangipane
I’m not including baking instructions because really it will depend on how much of it you use per pastry and on the recipe directions for those different kinds of pastries. But I will say that because it contains eggs this almond filling should definitely not be consumed raw.
Be sure to bake it until it’s moist but set. It should not be wobbly.
If it’s in a deep tart shell it will probably need longer than if you just spread a few tablespoons in a split croissant.
I’d estimate it should need a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes in a 350 degree F oven, but again, refer to your recipe!
Expert tips
Try a different kind of nut: These days it’s pretty easy to get your hands on a lot of different kinds of nut meals. These are just finely ground nuts! I’ve seen hazelnut meal, pecan meal and walnut meal just in my regular grocery store’s baking aisle. Sometimes you see the word “flour” instead of “meal.” These terms mean the same thing and are totally interchangeable. And if you can’t find the type of nut meal you’re after, you can make your own simply by finely grinding the nut of your choice in the food processor.
Add different flavorings: I’ve kept things simple here with just vanilla and almond extract, but you can add all sorts of things to this filling to make it extra-special. I’ve used rum, brandy, and different liqueurs (such as Grand Marnier, Frangelico, Calvados, Poire William), ground spices like cinnamon or ginger, and citrus zest to jazz up my frangipane. It all works great!
Use room temperature ingredients: If your frangipane looks lumpy or curdled, it could be because your ingredients were cold and didn’t incorporate well. It’s totally fine, don’t worry your frangipane will still come out, but to avoid this it’s best if all your ingredients are at room temperature. You also want to add liquids in slowly, a little at a time, while whipping. These two tips will guarantee a smooth, fluffy creme d’amande filling.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! This almond filling recipe is naturally gluten-free. You don’t even need to swap anything out.
There are lots of great plant-based butter substitutes and any one of them would work great in this frangipane recipe.
Eggs are actually not considered dairy, even though they’re often sold in the dairy section. But if you want a vegan frangipane, you could use any number of plant-based egg products. As long as it swaps 1:1 it should work just fine.
Frangipane contains butter and whole eggs in addition to the ground almonds, whereas marzipan is usually just almonds and sugar (but sometimes has egg whites).
While the texture of frangipane bakes up airy, moist, and fluffy, marzipan is usually more dense, chewy, and candy-like.
Frangipane is a filling while marzipan is a confection.
That all depends on how you are using it!
If you’re making a cherry bakewell tart in a deep tart pan, this will need more time in the oven than if you’re just spreading a few tablespoons on a croissant, kwim?
I would say frangipane should probably be baked for a minimum of 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees, just to make sure the eggs are out of that danger zone. But ideally you want to judge it by the way it looks, feels, and smells.
It should be starting to turn golden around the edges and feel soft but set. It shouldn’t really wobble. And you should get a strong aroma of toasty nuts.
I wouldn’t make this too far ahead of time, because it contains eggs. The yolks especially tend to go quick once cracked out of their shells.
But I’d say you could probably mix this up a day or two ahead of time and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. It should last in the freezer for a week or so and can be thawed in the refrigerator before baking.
This frangipane recipe makes approximately 2 cups of filling. That’s plenty for a standard-sized tart of any shape.
I’ve figured on a serving size of about 1/3-cup, since many tarts can be cut into 6 generous slices.
The nutritional info below reflects a serving size of 0.33 of the whole batch.
A few more of my best topping recipes
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Frangipane Recipe
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup (133.33 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) kosher salt
- 2 (88 g) eggs, large
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon (1 g) almond extract
- 1 1/2 cups (168 g) almond meal , (aka: almond flour or finely ground almonds)*
Instructions
- Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the sugar, butter, and salt together until very pale and doubled in volume (approx. 5 to 7 minutes).
- Whip in the first egg until fully incorporated.
- Whip in the second egg and the extracts until well blended.
- Fold in the almond meal.
- Bake until set. (Exact times and temps will depend on what you are using it for. A large, deep-dish tart will require less baking than a thin layer sandwiched in a croissant. As a general rule, I'd give it at least 10 or 15 minutes at 350 degrees F, maybe longer.)
