5.26.16
What you need to know about Frangipane: Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart
If you like to bake, you definitely want to know about Frangipane because it is such a versatile and delicious filling, which is also easy to make. It is a creamy almond filling with a base of ground almonds and sugar, called TPT (tant pour tant−so much X for so much−or equal parts) in the French pastry lexicon. If you study French pastry, Frangipane will definitely be a basic building block in the lesson plan. I say “building block” because it can be used for so many different purposes. First of all, Frangipane makes a great tart filling when combined with berries or fruit. You simply spread a layer of Frangipane in an unbaked tart shell, filling the shell half full, and then arrange berries or fruit over the top. As the tart bakes, the filling rises up around the fruit creating a delicious mélange of flavors.
Make a Large 10″ (25 cm) Tart or Individual Tarts:
Raspberrry Almond Frangipane Tart
Small 3 1/2″ (8.75 cm) Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tarts
When I was pastry chef at The Old Inn On The Green and the Southfield Store, we always had a whole row of tarts in the pastry case, and you could be sure that at least one or two of those tarts would be some kind of Frangipane Tart: maybe blueberry, blackberry, or raspberry. We had many requests for take-out Frangipane Tarts; it was one of our most popular flavors. But Frangipane is a filling that can be used in many ways other than tarts−such as breakfast pastries or coffee cakes−but it also the filling in many classic French pastries.
Red Charm Peony & Dogwood
One such pastry is the Pithivier, a beautiful combination of golden puff pastry and Frangipane. I like the story about it on Kitchen Inspirational; you might like it too. Frangipane is also the filling in the French la Galette des Rois or King’s Cake. Frangipane is a traditional food associated with the Christmas holidays in France.
Although Frangipane is a French pastry preparation, its history goes back to 16th century Italy, when, of all things, an Italian nobleman, Marquis Muzio Frangipani, created almond-perfume scented gloves (why would you want those?). Nevertheless, almonds and Frangipani would forever be linked. Pastry chefs, seeing the popularity of the almond scent, captured it in a dessert that would become known as Frangipane. The earliest modern spelling of the word appeared in a 1732 French confectioners’ dictionary.
Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart
There are several ways to pronounce this word: 1) FRAN-jup-payn 2) FRAWN-zhee-pan 3) Frangipani. I have always called it FRAWN- jup-payn, but I noticed that Martha Stewart called it Frangipani on one of her episodes of Martha Bakes on PBS. I say “Take your pick.” Also, check out this source about Frangipane, which is where I found the pronunciations: food.com.
There are many recipes for Frangipne, but the recipe I like best is the one that I learned to make years ago in cooking school: The Institute of Culinary Education or ICE, formerly known as Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School. I’ve made this recipe hundreds of times so I feel confident about sharing it with you in this post.
If you would like to make a larger batch of Frangipane, use this recipe. Click on Thick Raspberry Sauce for a sauce to serve with the tarts. Click here for the recipe for Almond Sablé Tart Shells.
Almond Sablé Tart Shell:
Spread Raspberry Preserves and Frangipane in the unbaked tart shell:
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- Spread layer of Raspberry Preserves in bottom of tart shell and freeze.
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- Tart Shell filled with Frozen Raspberry Preserves.
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- Place dollops of Frangipane over the preserves, which makes it easier to spread.
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- Spread the Frangipane in an even layer.
Arrange the Raspberries and Sliced Blanched Almonds over the Layer of Frangipane:
Assembled Tart Ready to Bake:
Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart
To Make Small 3 1/2″ (8.75 cm) Tarts:
Small Tarts Ready to Bake:
3 1/2″ (8.75 cm) Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tarts
Finished Tarts:
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- Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart
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- Individual Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart
Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart
Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart
Ingredients
- ALMOND FRANGIPANE FILLING:
- NET WEIGHT: 450g 1#
- 95 grams blanched almond flour 1 cup
- - Or: 95g sliced blanched almonds 3/4 cup
- 95 grams sugar 1/2 cup
- 125 grams butter softened (1 stick + 1 Tablespoon / 9 Tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 100 grams egg yolks 5 large
- 50 grams cake flour sifted (1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon)
- 465 grams = Total 16.5 oz 1# .5 oz
- ALMOND SABLÉ TART SHELL: See Separate Recipe
- 1 Large 10" Diameter 25 cm Tart Shell (unbaked) = 375g Dough
- Or: 10 Small Individual Tart Shells unbaked - 3 1/2" (8.75 cm) Diameter = 375g Dough
- RASPBERRY PRESERVES:
- 200 grams raspberry preserves 2/3 cup (Bonne Maman)
- RASPBERRIES:
- 340 grams fresh rasperries 2 - 170g containers
- - Have an extra container of raspberries on hand in case you need a few more
- ALMONDS:
- 45 grams sliced blanched almonds 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons
Instructions
- TO MIX FRANGIPANE: PROCESS the almond flour (or sliced almonds) with the sugar in food processor until finely ground. Transfer to bowl of stand mixer (Kitchen Aid).
- ADD butter and mix with paddle on low speed until incorporated.
- ADD almond extract, then egg yolks, one at a time, with mixer running on medium speed.
- PULSE in cake flour on low speed until mixture is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and scrape up the bottom of the bowl and mix in.
- REFRIGERATE until needed. Let come to room temperature when ready to use.
- TO ASSEMBLE LARGE TARTS: 1) Spread Raspberry Preserves in a thin layer on the bottom of tart shell. 2) Let freeze to make it easier to spread Frangipane. 3) Place dollops of the Frangipane Filling (450g) on top of the preserves. 4) Gently spread filling to an even layer, using a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Be careful not to disturb the preserves. 5) Note: when using Frangipane Filling with berries or other fruit, the tart shell should be about half full of filling before adding the berries; the filling will rise up around the berries as the tart bakes.
- ARRANGE the raspberries in neat concentric rows about 1/4" apart, making sure there is Frangipane between them, then press them gently into the Frangipane.
- SCATTER the sliced blanched almonds in between the raspberries.
- IF MAKING SMALL INDIVIDUAL TARTS: 1) FOLLOW the same procedure as for large tarts. 2) Spread a #70 scoop (1 tablespoon - 20g) of preserves in the bottom of each tart shell. 3) Freeze before adding the filling. 4) To portion the Frangipane for small tarts, I use a #30 Black ice cream scoop (35g). Just remember, you want the tart shell to be half full of filling before you add the berries. 5) I find that about 7 raspberries is the right number for a 3 1/2" tart; arrange them in a circle with one in the center and press gently into the Frangipane. 6) Scatter blanched sliced almonds between the berries.
- BAKE the tarts @ 350° F (175° C) 55 - 60 minutes for large tarts or 35 - 40 minutes for small tarts, until the Frangipane filling is set and a wooden skewer tests clean; the crust should be a golden brown.
Notes
Individual Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart
Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy!
Shirl
how long in advance of serving can I make this? does it need to be refrigerated? is it served room temperature, or chilled?
Ana, you can make this several days or several weeks ahead because it freezes well. It does need to be kept refrigerated because of the eggs in the filling. It is ok to serve cold or at room temp. Just be sure to cut it when it is cold; it will be so much easier to slice. Hope this helps and thanks for your interest.
Shirl
What a great recipe! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
http://www.jamiescookery.com
Thank you so much Jamie. This is a great recipe. Not only does it taste good but it is very versatile. I have used it so many times with different fruit and berries. It’s a recipe that allows you to be creative. Enjoy it.
How many days can it last if kept in the fridge?
Hi Nadia,
This must always be refrigerated, whether it is raw filling or a baked tart because of the eggs in recipe. Either one will keep up to a week in the refrigerator. If longer storage is necessary, it should be kept in the freezer. Be sure it is well wrapped in plastic wrap. Here’s a tip: I buy jumbo (2 gal) plastic bags which are big enough to hold a whole tart. This is an easy way to store tarts. Thanks for your question.
Hi there I would really like to try this recipe but I’m unclear on which type of flour to use.. Is it plain or self raising flour? Also I’ve bought ready ground almonds which I presume are blanched almonds which have already been ground. How much sugar would I use to each ounce of almonds. Thank you.
Hi Ellie,
Thank you for your questions. The flour that I used is plain cake flour, not self-rising. If you don’t have cake flour, it’s ok to use all-purpose flour. Regarding almond flour (also called almond meal): the way to tell if your almond flour is blanched is whether or not it has little brown flecks in it from ground up almond skins. If so, it would be referred to as natural almond flour. Blanched almond flour will not have those brown flecks because the skins were removed in the blanching process. Although I prefer blanched in this recipe because it makes a filling that is a creamier color, you can use either one. I’m not sure what you mean by your last question, but the recipe calls for equal parts almond flour and sugar, a 1-1 ratio or 95grams of each. This would also mean 1 ounce of almond flour to one ounce of sugar. However, you wouldn’t be using any extra sugar that is not called for in the recipe. I hope I’ve answered your questions. If not, please ask again.
So happy to have stumbled upon your website, it’s beautiful! I love the history you share along with your clear instructions, weight measures and gorgeous photos. I’m planning on making either a raspberry, nectarine or peach frangipane tart for Christmas (summer here in Australia) so have been reading many recipes and some call for blind baking the case whilst others don’t. I wonder why that would be. In any case, I think I will follow your recipe. Many thanks
Whether to blind-bake a tart shell (case) is a baker’s decision and what I learned in pastry making is that there are many ways to do any given task. The reason I like to blind-bake the crust for the Frangipane Tart is to keep the crust somewhat crunchy and not let it get soggy. Observe caution when blind-baking: the baking time and the desired color depends on whether the crust will be baked again with the filling. In the case of Frangipane, it will be baked again so be sure to watch the color and take it out of the oven when it is very light, otherwise it will be too dark when the tart has finished baking with the filling.
If you are blind-baking a tart shell for a pre-cooked filling such as Lemon Curd or Chocolate Pudding (or a Ganache filling), then you should blind-bake longer, to a golden brown finished color.
I hope this helps. I know there are so many subjective opinions in baking, so this is my point of view on your question.
So glad you are using my recipe and thank you for the nice comments about my blog.
I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.
Shirl
Thank you so much for posting this beautiful recipe! The directions were so clear and easy to follow and my tart turned out absolutely wonderful! Lovely and delicious. I came upon your site while looking for this specific type of recipe, but I’ll definitely be exploring the archives for future ideas! Thank you!
Thank you so much for the lovely comments. I’ve been making this tart since cooking school and it never fails to please. I’m so glad your tart turned out well. Thanks again. Shirl
Thank you so much for your comments. I’ve been making this tart since cooking school and it never fails to please. I’m so glad your tart turned out well. Thanks again. Shirl
Can I use frozen raspberries instead of fresh?
Thanks for your question Hannah. Yes, absolutely. This is a very good dessert to use frozen berries. Just make sure to keep them frozen until you are ready to make the tart. Press frozen berries gently into the Frangipane filling. Then put in oven quickly.
I made this recipe, it really was perfect. Thank you. Show & tell here: https://plus.google.com/+ChristineTran/posts/ZWR4xtjZF4M
Thanks Christine for sharing the photo of your tart. I love it when people bake my recipes. It looks great.
Hello , my raspberries sunk to the bottom and the tart browned a bit too much . Is it possible to cover the tart with aluminum until it vooks halfway and then add the raspberries? Thank you
I made this for Thanksgiving. It was delicious and a huge hit. Came out exactly as reflected in your beautiful photographs. Thank you for posting the recipe. I have never made frangipane before and your step-by-step photographs were very helpful.
Thank you Jackie for the wonderful comment. Sorry to take so long to respond but I’ve been away from posting for awhile. Hope to be back doing that again soon.
I have made this several times and it is always a showstopper…thank you for the recipe!
Hello,
I can’t find any almond extract in my country. Can it be omitted? Thank you.
Yes, you can omit it. Just use vanilla extract instead. Thank you for your question. Even though my response is so late, others may find the answer helpful.
Hi Shirl, thank you so much for sharing your recipe as well as for the beautiful photos and clear instructions. I also find it especially helpful to have weight measurements – it absolutely takes any guesswork out. I tried this tart yesterday and it turned out perfectly…it was delicious! It was my first time on your website but definitely not my last. I look forward to exploring your recipes and to my next baking adventure.
Andy, thank you for the kind words. I appreciate it so much. Sorry my answer is this late.
Hi Shirl,
I am in Australia and wanted to confirm with the 175C is this for a conventional oven? Which would mean if I am using a fan forced conventional I should reduce the temp to 160C approx?
I have made the tart with many compliments so far but it often is cooked too quickly and I just started wondering if I am baking at too hot a temp…
Thanks – Rosi
Hi Rosi, usually I reduce a conventional oven temp by 25-50 degrees for a convection oven, so your reduction from 175C-160C sounds about right. For future reference, all of my recipes are written for a conventional oven. Thanks for the question.
This is my go to recipe for Frangipane. I do go heavier on the almond extract. But it is wonderful! I prefer to use a shortbread crust for any tarts I make with it. I am cocooning for the pandemic and making a tart just for me as my Christmas gift to myself. It is that good. Christmas morning I will have an egg white omelet with the left over egg whites.
Hi Bill, I approve of your Christmas present to yourself. Frangipane is a great creation. A little extra almond extract couldn’t hurt. Happy New Year.
I just made it and it turned out great. Just had a question if the frangipane is a little on the cold side before baking will it cause the filling not to rise as much? Didn’t rise as much as your pictures but still turned out beautiful.
Hi Anas,
It’s not a problem to use cold Frangipane, but realize that it will require a longer baking time. Possibly, your Frangipane didn’t bake long enough. Also, did you use the same size tart pan that I did. If you used a slightly larger pan, it’s not going to fill up as much as the smaller one.
Thank you for the comment. Hope this helps.
Shirl
Sorry, for this particular recipe, do you tend to blind bake or not? The recipe says to put the preserves and frangipane in the unbaked shell, but the linked shell recipe says to blind bake. Then in the comments, you give some rules of thumb as to when to blind bake or not… So I’m sure either one would more or less work… but in your opinion for this specific tart, which is your preference? Thanks!
Hi Dan, thanks for your question. Because Frangipane requires a long baking time, the crust has time to fully bake without blind baking it, saving a step. So that is the key: does the crust have time to bake fully or will it be partially raw?
Shirl
I consider myself a frangipane connoisseur and lover of all things frangipane. I can’t believe I have never seen your recipe as I’m constantly searching for frangipane recipes. Your article with the history was incredible and so sad imaging. Thank you for that!! Can’t wait to try your frangipane. I’ve always made raspberry frangipane tart with the preserves on the bottom but never put fresh ones atop. Only sliced almonds. And freezing the preserves? What a concept!! Friday I made one and I totally disturbed the preserves. Thank you so much for your recipe and inspiration!!
Hi Rosalva, thanks for the Frangipane comments. I love this recipe and have made a lot of these. Whenever I discover a new tip, I like passing it on, such as freezing the preserves before adding the Frangipane. Makes life much easier.
Shirl
Thanks so much, what a lovely recipe. I love the history and insights into where the recipe comes from and your background and passion for cooking too. Despite this being the first time making the Frangipani, and not having any flour, plus using a almond/coconut/hazelnut mix, the tart is delicious. Thanks again.
Hi Melanie, so glad you like the recipe. It’s very adaptable. Happy your combination worked. Thanks for the comment.
Shirl
Hi Shirl, I love all things Tart. I am laying out all the filling ingredients and am sure that “100 grams egg yolks” is incorrect – because that’s like 14 yolks, not five!
Clarification, please! Eager to whip this up!
Thanks.
Hi Jill, so glad to hear you’re making my tart. I love this recipe.
Regarding the egg yolks, I always weigh the yolks. The guideline that I use to estimate how many yolks I need is this:
– 1 large yolk = 20g
(The white = 30g. Total large egg =
50g).
Therefore, 100g yolks requires approximately 5 yolks.
Hope this helps and thanks for your question.
Shirl
Hi Shirl
I recently came upon your site and love the way you present each recipe.
I am about to make the Raspberry Frangipane Tart. The tart pastry is chilling overnight in the frig.
I have a concern about the length of time the sliced almonds on the top of the tart will be baking. It seems that 55 to 60 minutes is much too long for the almonds not to burn or be excessively brown. Please advise!
Thanks for your help.
Randa
Hi Randa, what I do is keep an eye on the color of the tart as it bakes by checking every 15 minutes or so. When it gets to a golden brown color, the shade that you like, cover it loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. That will allow the Frangipane to keep baking without over-baking the top and burning the almonds. Thanks for your question. Shirl
Hi – I bought everything to make this amazing and professional looking frangipane but overlooked one detail. My fluted tart pan is only 9”. Could you please advise me as to the best way to tweak the recipe? Thank you in advance.
Hi Jim, so sorry I overlooked your comment. For 1/2” difference in pan size, I wouldn’t bother to change the recipe. Just use what’s needed for the 9” pan and use the left-over
filling and tart dough to make a small tart for tasting. That’s what I would do.
I made this today including your sable tart dough and it was amazing! Fruit is so expensive at the moment so I tried out an alternative and subbed the fresh berries for a few dollops of the raspberry jam atop of frangipane and layered with sliced almonds – still came out great. Thank you~ 🙂
Hi Haley, thank you for trying my recipe. It’s one of the favorites on this website. One thing about pastry, there’s a lot of different ways you can treat each recipe. I think it sounds very clever to use jam on the top. Very creative.
Hello Shirl,
Thank you for your wonderful website and blog. I am a leader in life re-developing a passion for baking, which was also one of my joys in childhood. I plan on trying this recipe and I have not yet tried frangipani with almond flour, so I am curious if that is the answer I am looking for. my main question which I do not know who has the answer for:
I make a frangipani tart filling with almond paste that is wonderful and amazing but breaking up the almond paste in the beginning is not an easy step to do in large quantities. I want to know if there is an easier way to do this in bulk? What would a professional baker do to make Frankie Penny filling in bulk? would they simply not use almond paste and use almond flour? That is what I am wondering primarily.
I am also looking for ways to create more consistency in my tarts. The only pace does seem to very when I buy it, and different levels of moisture, perhaps, depending on the age, or if it has been exposed to different temperatures, when being stored or ship to stores I imagine.
Some thing else discovered by accident is sometimes the Frankie Penny tart has a very very spongy texture that I love, and I am not sure ways to encourage this. It may depend on the moisture Contant of the almond paste, I think. My husband made the tart for me and actually microwaved, the Frankie bunny filling I had made to get it to pour easily when it came out of the fridge and we suspected this could have led to this extra spongy texture. However, I try not to microwave anything because I believe doesn’t it change the molecular structure of food, making it not necessarily recognizable by the body as food? so I microwave as little as possible. I am not sure your thoughts on that either. I try to be open minded every direction, but want to do research.
Too long for a comment perhaps? Answer what you can. Thank you so much.
Hi Tara,
Thank you for the questions. I’ll answer the first one about making a Frangipane filling in bulk using almond paste. What size mixer do you use? I could answer this better if I knew what quantity you consider bulk. Without this information, I will answer in general. Any time you are using almond paste, no matter what quantity, it is important to mix it with some of the egg in the recipe until completely smooth before adding and other ingredients. The almond paste must be mixed in a food processor (small quantity) or electric mixer (for large quantities) This will prevent lumps in the final product.
Also, I’m not familiar with Frankie Penny Frangipane tart. Where are you writing from? Could you please send me a link about it so that I understand.
Regarding microwaving, I am less skeptical about using one and find them quite handy in pastry work.
I will be happy to answer further questions if you send me more info.
Thanks, Shirl
Hi Shirl,
I just want to thank you for this amazing recipe and the way you wrote it down. The instructions are extremely clear and you can feel the love you have for this recipe throught he words. The pictures are beautiful, the little details about French pastry are great and the outcome is fantastic.
I made this the first time when corona started. I had so much free time and didn’t know what to do with myself :p. It was the first “real” tart I’ve baked. Now, I make it for special occasions and it is always a big hit. This tart taught me the love for baking. Making it tonight for Easter Sunday tomorrow. 🙂
I want to thank you so much!
Lots of love from Amsterdam,
Joana
Hi Joana from Amsterdam, what wonderful comments about my tart. I’m so glad that you have mastered the recipe. Sorry to be answering your comments so late. I went through some health issues.
I have a free Baking Newsletter on Substack now. It is in email form that comes to your inbox. I publish a new recipe every few weeks, sometimes more often. If you would like to sign up, here’s the link: https://shirldgard.substack.com
And again, thanks so much.
Shirl
I’m in the process of making this tart! So excited!
Question: can you share information about the decision to use all egg yolks?
The other frangipane recipes I’ve looked at use whole eggs and I’m wondering about the differences and things to watch for.
Egg yolks make a filling smooth and silky, as well as adding richness to the filling. If you prefer, you could use 1 large whole egg (50g) and 2-3 large egg yolks (40g-60g).
Cooking time WAY too long.
Waste of time & ingredients.
So disappointed:(
So sorry, Bree, that your tart was over-baked. Frangipane does need to bake a long time. Here’s some of the things I do to prevent over-baking. I have an oven thermometer to make sure my oven is calibrated correctly. I check the tart every 10 minutes or so. When the tart gets close to the color that I would like, I cover it loosely with a foil tent. this allows it to keep baking without getting too brown. I hope these tips are helpful for the next time.
Hello,
Would it be possible to sub the rapsberries for apricots or apples?
Yes, Frangipane works with almost all fruit.