Frangipane

Frangipane is a pastry cream made up of ground almonds, eggs, flour, sugar and butter. It has a multitude of uses. The French use it in such desserts as tarte amandine aux poires, pithiviers and galettes where as the English use it for the base of the famous Bakewell tart. It can also be made with ground pistachios and hazelnuts and can even be mixed with Crème Patisserie (confectioners custard) to give it a looser and more velvety texture.

The history of frangipane can be traced back to the 16th-century. An Italian nobleman by the name of Marquis Muzio Frangipani invented a perfume for scenting gloves. This perfume was based on bitter almonds and proved to be so popular it inspired the pastry chefs of the time to produce a pastry cream that captured that same scent, for their desserts and pastries. They named it Frangipani.

Here’s my take on this classic dessert. I have substituted half the sugar for brown sugar to give it a richer, darker flavour and have added toasted oats which give it an interesting nutty flavour and courser texture.

Plum, blueberry and
toasted oat frangipane tart

For the pastry:— 75g caster sugar
— pinch salt
— 1 vanilla pod
— 150g soft butter
— 1 egg

For the frangipane:— 150g soft butter
— 100g caster sugar
— 50g dark brown sugar
— 3 eggs
— ½ tsp almond extract
— 150g oats
— 75g plain flour
— 25ml rum (optional)

— 1 punnet blueberries
— 2 ripe plums
— 2 tbsp raspberry jam
— honey to glaze

Preheat your oven to 160◦c.
For the pastry rub together the butter, sugar, vanilla and flour to resemble fine breadcrumb. Slowly add the egg to form dough. Wrap well in cling film and rest in fridge.

Make the frangipane. Beat the butter and sugar together until well combined. Add one
egg at a time and beat into the mix. Add the almonds, flour, rum (if using) and almond extract and mix well. Toast the oats in a pan on a low heat until they start to colour and add to the mix.

Roll out your pastry on a floured surface and line into a 9 inch tart case. Allow to rest for 1 hour. Line rested tart case with greaseproof paper and baking beans and blind bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and spread jam liberally over the bottom.

Fill with your frangipane mix, dot with quartered de-stoned plums and blueberries and put back in the oven for approx 30 minutes until golden and set. Glaze with warmed honey. ENJOY