Frangipane Almond Cream | Rich, Buttery and Intensely Nutty

Recipe Basics

Frangipane (Almond Cream)

Rich, buttery almond cream that bakes into something soft, almost custardy, and intensely nutty and lightly sweet. The filling for fruit tarts, pear tarts, croissants, and anything else that needs an almond layer. It only takes five ingredients and five minutes to make!

Obviously French May 4, 2026

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I’ll be honest with you: I used to buy the ready-made frangipane mix, the one where you just add butter and water. I had no idea how simple the real thing was to make from scratch.

For years now I’ve made my own, never once thinking back to that girl who bought packets. But I forgot that there are people out there who are today in the same place I was then. So I figured it was time to share the recipe so everyone can make their own, because nobody needs a packet with fifteen ingredients when four will do the job better.

Crème d’amandes and crème frangipane

You might have come looking for the “real” French frangipane and landed here. So let me be straight with you: technically, this isn’t the classical frangipane. But the name’s been used interchangeably with crème d’amandes for so long that I didn’t want anyone searching for it to leave disappointed.

Crème d’amandes is what this recipe makes. Butter, sugar, ground almonds and eggs. It bakes up rich, moist and super nutty, with those gorgeous caramelised edges. This is what goes into most things you’ll see labelled “frangipane”.

Crème frangipane is the classical version: crème d’amandes mixed with crème pâtissière, two parts almond cream to one part crème pâtissière. It comes out lighter, delicate and less intensely almondy. It’s what a French pâtisserie would use in a galette des rois.

Both are lovely, but I personally lean towards the crème d’amandes myself (so this recipe), partly because it’s quicker when you’re in a rush, but mostly because I do love a strong almond hit! If you want the traditional version, just make a crème pâtissière alongside and fold a third of it in at the end.

Where frangipane comes from

This one’s a funny story, because it has nothing to do with food to begin with.

The Frangipani were a noble Italian family, and their name came from the Latin frangere il pane, “to break the bread,” because they were known for handing out bread to the poor during famines in medieval Rome. Fast forward a few centuries, and a member of the family, living in Paris around the time of Louis XIII, invented a bitter-almond perfume used to scent leather gloves. Almond-scented gloves were, apparently, the must-have accessory of 17th-century Paris. (I know. I wish I’d been there too.)

Now, I’ll level with you: the exact details are half-legend. You’ll see him named as the Marquis Muzio Frangipani, but historians who’ve gone looking can’t quite pin him down, some of it doesn’t check out, and other versions name a different Frangipani entirely. What’s solid is that the perfume was real and wildly fashionable, and that a Parisian pastry chef decided to capture that same almond scent in a cream and named it after the family. The first printed recipe turns up in a French cookbook in 1674. So one of the most-used fillings in French pâtisserie exists, more or less, because someone made very fashionable gloves. French food history is genuinely never boring!

Ingredients

Butter – Room temperature, so properly soft. Cold butter won’t cream.
Caster sugar – It creams withe the butterto give that pale, light base.
Ground almonds (almond flour) – The soul of almond paste frangipane. This is where all the nutty flavour lives.
Eggs – Room temperature or the mixture splits. Two medium eggs come to roughly 100g, which is the whole trick of the recipe (more below).
Dark rum – Traditional in French almond cream as it rounds out the almond flavour beautifully. But you can leave it out completely if you prefer.
Vanilla – Just a little, for warmth in the background.

The “tant pour tant” rule

Here’s the bit that makes this recipe impossible to forget. Tant pour tant means “amount for amount,” so equal quantities of everything. Remember that a medium egg weighs about 50g, and you’ve memorised the whole recipe: one egg means 50g of everything else, two eggs means 100g of everything else. It scales perfectly and it never fails.

How to make frangipane

1. Cream the butter and sugar

Beat the soft butter and sugar together until pale and creamy, a couple of minutes with a mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon. You want it smooth and a shade lighter in colour. Don’t go mad, though, this isn’t a sponge and you’re not trying to whip in loads of air.

2. Add the eggs

In they go, one at a time, beating well between each. If it looks like it’s splitting, don’t panic, just keep beating and it’ll come back together. The one thing that matters here: both eggs and butter must be at room temperature, or it’ll separate on you and sulk.

3. Add the almonds and flavourings

Stir in the ground almonds, rum and vanilla, and mix just until smooth and combined. Stop the moment it’s homogeneous. It should be soft, spreadable, and a little grainy from the almonds, which is exactly right. Overbeat now and you whip in air, which makes it puff up too much in the oven and spill over your tart shell.

Tools for this recipe

Check out my favorite kitchen essentials and cookware!

Use a stand mixer or electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar.
Use a spatula to stir the frangipane until smooth.
I use my glass airtight container to keep any leftover in the fridge or freezer.

Tips for success

Everything at room temperature: cold butter won’t cream and cold eggs make it split. So take the butter and eggs out at least an hour before you start.
Don’t overwhip: mix until smooth and homogeneous, then stop. Beating too much whips in air, and the cream puffs up too much in the oven and can overflow the shell.
Remember tant pour tant: equal weights of butter, sugar, ground almonds and egg. Two medium eggs ≈ 100g, so 100g of everything else. Memorise that one fact and you’ll never need the recipe again!
Keep the layer thin: about 1cm in a tart shell. Any thicker and the middle stays raw while the edges colour.

How to store it

Frangipane keeps really well, which is half its charm. Make a batch, use what you need, and keep the rest in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If it firms up in the cold, just bring it back to room temperature and give it a quick stir before using.
It also freezes for up to a month, so a double batch is never a bad idea. Thaw it in the fridge, then back to room temperature and a stir, and it’s as good as fresh.

More recipes to try

→ Sweet Shortcrust Pastry (Pâte Sablée)

→ Shortcrust Pastry (Pate Brisée)

→ Creamy Frangipane Pear Tart

→ Buttery Almond Financiers

→ Iconic Galette des Rois

What to make with it

The obvious choice is galette des rois, the flaky puff-pastry cake the French eat every January for Epiphany. But you can do so much more with it. You can spread it inside a croissant before baking. Spoon it into a blind-baked shell, lay poached pear halves on top, and bake it golden for a tarte bourdaloue. Or my other favourite: spread it thick on a slice of day-old brioche, scatter flaked almonds over, and bake until caramelised, that’s a bostock.

But honestly, once there’s a batch of almond frangipane in the fridge, you’ll find excuses to use it everywhere. Or like me, just get a spoon every now and then with my coffee!

FAQ

What’s the difference between frangipane and almond cream?

Strictly, frangipane (crème frangipane) is almond cream (crème d’amandes) blended with pastry cream, two parts almond to one part pastry cream, which makes it lighter. This recipe is the almond cream itself, which is what most recipes call “frangipane.” Both are delicious; the almond cream is quicker and more intensely nutty.

Can I use almond flour instead of ground almonds?

Yes, they’re essentially the same thing here. Almond flour is just finely ground almonds. Either gives you a lovely nutty almond cream. Ground almonds with the skins left in give a slightly more rustic colour and flavour; blanched almond flour is paler and finer.

Why did my frangipane split?

Almost always because the butter or eggs were cold. Everything needs to be at room temperature. If it does start to split as you add the eggs, keep beating, it usually comes back together. Take the butter and eggs out at least an hour ahead.

Can I make frangipane ahead of time?

Yes, it’s ideal for it. It keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container, or a month in the freezer. Bring it back to room temperature and give it a stir before using, since it firms up when cold.

Do I have to use rum?

No. Rum is traditional and rounds out the almond flavour, but you can leave it out entirely. The cream works perfectly well without it.

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Want to cook more French food?

Recipes from my kitchen, cheeses, kitchen tips and what’s happening in my corner of France. Free mother sauces e-book when you subscribe!

Recipe Basics

Frangipane (Almond Cream)

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Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings gr

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