Table of Contents
Back at the beginning of October, I managed to snap up about 3 kilograms of fresh apricot at the local market, clearly the last of the lasts of the season and since they were dirt cheap, I assumed they were clearly surplus. It’s odd that they were still available in October in London, but I was happy to get my hands on them anyway. I love rescuing fruits and veggies in larger quantities and then just getting a bit adventurous with baking and cooking and trying new recipes with them.
We ate half of them but they were not so nice anymore and were getting a bit old. So I had to think about ways to use them up. I wasn’t really feeling the jam making process, I thought they were better to use them in a lovely apricot tart. This is a classic recipe, so it does contain eggs and dairy.
So, I made this French Apricot – Frangipane tart with them. Needless to say it was gone within a day, and the kids didn’t even touch it, so I must have eaten half of it on my own when still warm. This is a seriously delicious French pastry, don’t say I didn’t warn you…
What is Frangipane?
Frangipane is a sweet filling made from or flavoured with almonds. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes and such pastries. Sometimes it’s only the almond extract that is added to the custard filling but the original is made with ground almond.
What is The Meaning of Frangipane?
Frangipane is the name of the almond-flavoured cream or paste in French.
What is the difference between Frangipane and Marzipan?
Frangipane and marzipan, while similar, are not the same.
Marzipan is a sweet almond paste made from ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites, often used for covering cakes or forming decorative shapes. In contrast, frangipane is an almond cream made from butter, sugar, eggs, and ground almonds, typically used as a filling in tarts, pastries, and cakes. Both have a delightful almond flavor, but their textures and uses differ significantly. Marzipan is firm and pliable, while frangipane is soft and creamy when baked.
Is it Difficult to Make Frangipane?
No, not particularly.
It seems like a big baking job, but if you follow this recipe, it’s a guaranteed success. It only takes long because of the twice half an hour chilling time of the crust pastry, but apart from that, the rest is easily done by a food processor and the oven. And when it’s done it is a show stopper both in its looks and in flavours.
Enjoy.
How to Make Frangipane?
See recipe below,
Apricot Frangipane Tart
Ingredients
For the tart pastry
- 10 ripe apricots
- 185 g all purpose flour
- 75 g soft brown sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 125 g salted butter (room temperature) if you have unsalted butter only, add 1/4 tsp salt to the dough
For the Frangipane filling
- 120 g ground almond
- 100 g soft brown sugar
- 125 g unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
Garnish
- 12 small/medium ripe apricots washed and halved, if too big, cut them into quarters
- 3 tbsp maple syrup or honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 175 Celsius.Wash the apricots, remove stones and cut them into halves. In a mixing bowl, combine them with the maple syrup until they are all covered. Be gentle, make sure you don't mash them.
- Prepare the crust. I just placed everything into the food processor and whizzed it until the dough formed. Then place it into the fridge for 30 minutes to chill. Save the plastic wrap simply use a Tupperware kind of container.Roll out your pastry dough on a floured surface and then place in an 11” (25-30cm) loose-bottomed tart tin, pressing it into the sides. Chill again for 30 mins.
- In the meantime, prepare the frangipane. Measure out the ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Then, simply just combine them with a whisker. Set it aside.
- Spoon the frangipane into the crust and smooth the top all over with the back of your spoon.
- Poke the apricots into the frangipane, spacing them evenly.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes depending on your oven, just keep checking. The top of the tart should be lightly firm and warm golden. Leave the tart cool in the tin for 10 minutes before slicing it up or transferring it.It's equally nice warm and at room temperature. Enjoy.
