Homemade Frangipane Recipe (Almond Cream)

Frangipane — which is the gooey inside of an almond croissant — is outrageously delicious and a great recipe to have in your repertoire. Frangipane is easier to make than it sounds, and this homemade frangipane recipe is quick, simple and versatile for so many desserts.

If you’ve ever had frangipane, then you have had IMO one of the best food experiences accessible in this life. Frangipane is a sweet, buttery almond pastry cream that’s a star part of so many incredible baked goods. You probably know it best as the gooey filling in an almond croissant – so good.

This frangipane recipe is easy to make and particularly flavorful thanks to vanilla and almond extract. You can make the frangipane recipe with just a fork and a bowl (though you can use a mixer or food processor if you’d like). It only takes 7 ingredients, and they’re pretty much all pantry staples.

This is my go-to frangipane recipe. I’ve used it in some of my all-time favorite recipes like frangipane brownies, bakewell blondies and the viral frangipane blondies that have more than 100 five-star reviews. I can’t wait for you to try this frangipane recipe – I’m confident you’ll fall in love with it, too.

This post is all about the best easy and flavorful frangipane recipe.

Homemade Frangipane Recipe (Almond Cream)

What is frangipane (almond cream)?

Frangipane (also called almond cream) is a French almond paste that sounds fancy but is ridiculously easy to make and oh so flavorful. It was created in the 16th century by French pastry chefs, who were inspired by an almond-scented perfume an Italian nobleman created to perfume gloves in Paris. The nobleman’s name was Frangipani, hence frangipane.

Also fun fact – Halsey’s real name is Ashley Nicolette Frangipane. So the odds she descends from almond royalty have gotta be fairly high, right?

Frangipane is so easy to make and is a great addition to any baker’s repertoire. You can make it in one bowl without a hand mixer (though you can use one if you’d like). It comes together similar to cookie dough: you cream together softened butter and sugar with a fork, add an egg, vanilla and almond extracts, and then stir in almond flour and salt.

What can I use frangipane in? Frangipane recipes!

Frangipane is often used as a star filling in pastries and tarts. You can also get creative and bake it into blondies, brownies, toast, whatever your lil heart desires. The only real limitation with frangipane is that it needs to be baked since it has egg in it, so you can’t use it in a frosting or other non-baked sweets.

Here are some great frangipane recipes from myself and bakers I admire:

• Frangipane blondies. These are TikTok and Instagram viral, and have more than 100 five star reviews, so you know they’re gonna be good. Not to play favorites (but in reality, to play favorites), they’re also probably my favorite recipe I developed in 2023.

• Frangipane brownies. Frangipane blondies, but, like, with brownies. The two together are like Folklore and Evermore – you need to try both to decide a favorite and you know you’ll always want to listen to each (am I now stretching the metaphor too far)?

• Bakewell blondies. These are the blondie form a bakwell tart. They’re essentially the aforementioned frangipane blondies, but with swirls of sweet-tart raspberry jam on top.

• Bostock. Basically frangipane baked on top of toast. It’s like Nutella on toast’s dressed up cousin.

• Almond croissants. You can give day-old croissants a new life by turning them into almond croissants.

• Bakewell tart. A British classic that’s become more popular in the U.S. thanks to the Great British Bake Off.

• You can smooth frangipane on the bottom of a galette (basically an open-faced pie) or pastry tart, then cover with fruit. It’s delicious and one of my favorite ways to use summer berries and stone fruit.

Ingredient List

• Unsalted butter. Since butter is so central to frangipane, go for a quality one. Cabot is a great butter that’s affordable where I live. If you only have salted butter, you can omit the salt in the rest of the frangipane.

• Granulated sugar / white sugar. We stick with granulated sugar here, since brown sugar adds molasses and takes away from the classic almond frangipane flavor.

• Eggs. Go for large eggs. These babies are important for bringing the whole frangipane together, and giving a little lift to the frangipane as it bakes.

• Vanilla extract. *In my best Ina Garten voice* good vanilla extract. Don’t use imitation plsss you will not get the same great flavor.

• Almond extract. You can use almond extract or almond extract paste, which I find is a little more flavorful than extract. I love this almond extract paste from Taylor & Colledge – you can get it on Amazon. Don’t use almond paste (rather than almond extract paste) as it’s a completely different product.

• Almond flour, almond meal, or ground almonds. You’ve got options here! Almond flour is finely ground almonds with the skin removed, so it’s very smooth. Almond meal is less finely ground and the almonds still have their skin on, so the texture is overall a little courser. You can also grind whole almonds at home and use those instead!

• Salt. We always need a little salt to balance the sweet in baking, ya know?

Why you’ll love this recipe

• This recipe is extra flavorful. Many frangipane recipes don’t include vanilla extract and almond extract – they just rely on almond flour to provide an almond flavor. But I find that adding a little extract really rounds out the sweet, almond flavor and takes the frangipane to another LEVEL of delish.

• It uses simple ingredients and is so easy to make. Most of the ingredients you’ll already have in your pantry (you probs only need to go to the store for almond extract and almond flour).

• Frangipane sounds fancy, but is so easy to make. Frangipane has your next dinner party written all over it. Because what is better than making something that sounds fancy but actually SO easy?? NOTHIN’. Besides eating frangipane, because that is #1.

• Frangipane is naturally gluten free! If you are gluten free or someone you love is gluten free, you should def have frangipane in your repertoire because it’s a naturally gluten free recipe.

Frangipane Recipe Variations (let’s get funky)

• Change up the nuts. I know I’ve been talking about almond this, almond that. But you can swap out ground almonds for ground walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, or pecans and get a totally new flavor profile. Trying more nuts in frangipane is high on my bucket list for this year.

• Citrus zest. Rub some lemon zest or orange zest into the granulated sugar to release their flavorful oils before you make the frangipane. This will pair especially well with a fruit-focused dessert.

• Spices. Add a little cinnamon, or a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg, into the frangipane when you add the almond flour. This will give the frangipane a nice nutty and spiced flavor. I think it’d be especially good for an autumnal bostock.

How to make frangipane

Frangipane Recipe Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you make this frangipane, please leave a rating and review below. Follow along and for new recipes on Instagram or TikTok at @loaves.and.such! Happy baking, friends 🙂