This French Ingredient Will Unlock a Lifetime of Pastry Prospects

A number of years in the past, I labored at Café Besalu in Seattle, a French-style bakery that was identified for its croissants and laminated pastries. Every week, we made quarts and quarts of wealthy almond cream with butter, sugar, eggs, and floor almonds (though on the time we referred to the preparation as “frangipane”—extra on the right distinctions under). Almond cream is a typical French dessert and pastry filling, and on the bakery, we used it to fill danishes, tart shells, and twice-baked croissants, amongst many different pastries.

When making almond cream, bakers typically incorporate almond extract to emphasise the almond flour’s nuttiness, and might also embody vanilla extract, citrus zests, and spirits like brandy or rum for added perfume and depth. I am a fan of all of those additions, and embody them in my recipe right here. As soon as baked, the combination takes on the feel of a lightweight, moist almond cake, making it a really perfect filling for a fruit tart, a flaky croissant, or perhaps a candy roll. It’s not solely straightforward to make, it is also a necessary ingredient  for getting ready many elegant French desserts.

Almond Cream, Almond Paste, and Frangipane: What is the Distinction?

As we speak, many bakers outdoors of France mistakenly check with almond cream as frangipane. In French pâtisserie, nonetheless, frangipane is a mix that’s usually one half pastry cream (crème pâtissière) and two elements almond cream. To confuse issues much more, there’s additionally a variation on pastry cream—crème pâtissière aux amandes—that’s enriched with almond flour.

Then there’s almond paste, in addition to marzipan, to contemplate. Each almond paste and marzipan are made with floor almonds, confectioners’ sugar, and egg whites, however there are a couple of key variations: Almond paste accommodates much less sugar than marzipan, and is commonly integrated into baked items like Italian rainbow cookies. Marzipan, then again, is far sweeter, has the same texture to fondant, and is often rolled into skinny sheets for draping onto desserts and cookies or consuming by itself.

Find out how to Make a Aromatic, Flavorful Almond Cream

Use blanched almond flour. Many almond cream recipes instruct cooks to grind their very own almond flour by blitzing complete almonds to a rough meal. Whereas I applaud these efforts, you threat turning the almonds into nut butter—or, on the different finish of the spectrum—having to rigorously sift out bigger items to make sure the nuts are evenly floor. I benefit from the comfort of utilizing store-bought almond flour, which additionally makes for a smoother, creamier texture. Almond flour (or almond meal, because it’s typically known as), is available in two varieties: blanched and pure. The blanching course of removes the skins from the almonds, producing almond flour with a pale beige colour. Pure almond flour, then again, is floor from skin-on almonds, which provides it a speckled look and a barely coarser texture. 

The 2 varieties style fairly comparable, although pastry cooks and bakers typically favor blanched almond flour for its finer grind and stable colour, particularly for delicate desserts like macarons or madeleines, the place a coarser grind can have an effect on the feel of the batter and provides the pastries an off-putting grittiness. However for the aim of an almond cream, the distinction actually comes right down to seems to be, so use no matter you favor or is out there close to you. 

Toast the almond flour. Sometimes, the almond flour is added immediately into almond cream as is, however I like to recommend frivolously toasting the almond flour within the oven. This heats the almond’s unstable taste compounds, enhancing the ingredient’s nuttiness and deepening its naturally candy, earthy flavors. 

Merely unfold the almond flour into a fair layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring a couple of times, till it’s a lightweight golden-brown colour and really aromatic. You need to be sure that the almond flour cools to room temperature utterly earlier than including it to the batter—in any other case you’ll threat melting the butter and breaking the combination. 

Give it daring taste with extracts and booze. For years, I believed I hated almond flavoring; it typically overwhelmed no matter pastry it was utilized in and I discovered it cloying. Over time, the ingredient has grown on me, and after I’m making almond cream, I add a beneficiant quantity of almond and vanilla extracts, together with loads of brandy and lemon zest. It could seem to be a whole lot of large flavors collectively, however the heat and deep notes in vanilla and brandy in addition to the floral perfume of citrus zest assist steadiness the sharpness of the almond extract, leading to a well-rounded combination that’s deeply fragrant. In my very own model, I swap lemon zest for orange zest, which affords a extra floral and mellow citrus notice.
 
Mess around with the flavorings. Be at liberty to tweak the flavorings. Swap the orange zest for lemon or grapefruit zest, or omit it fully. You could possibly use rum as a substitute of brandy, and in the event you’re fearful the almond extract will likely be overpowering, you may incorporate half a teaspoon of almond extract as a substitute of the one and a half teaspoons I like to recommend under. You could possibly even use a unique nut: Nearly any nut meal or flour will work. Hazelnut cream made with hazelnut flour could be scrumptious, and you may substitute a hazelnut liqueur like Frangelico for the almond extract and brandy. Pistachios additionally work properly, and produce a pleasantly inexperienced combination.

Find out how to Use Almond Cream

I like to recommend utilizing this almond cream to make a fruit and almond tart. Fill a par-baked tart shell (like pâte brisée, pâte sucrée, or pâte sablée) and prime it with sliced fruit comparable to apples, pears, or plums. Because the tart bakes, the fruit will sink into the combination, forming a cohesive filling that’s completely sliceable. Although I now not work at a bakery, I nonetheless flip to almond cream at any time when I’m in want of a sublime dessert or pastry: I’ll fill a do-it-yourself tart shell with it or slather it onto store-bought croissants for a straightforward tackle twice-baked almond croissants. The result’s all the time bakery-worthy, and by no means fails to impress. 

Prepare dinner Mode
(Hold display awake)

• 113g blanched or pure almond flour (4 ounces; 1 cup), see notes

• 85g unsalted butter, room temperature (3 ounces; 6 tablespoons)

• 100g granulated sugar (about 3 1/2 ounces; 1/2 cup)

• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest from 1 medium orange, optionally available

• 16g all-purpose flour (1/2 ounce; 2 tablespoons)

• 1 giant egg, room temperature

• 1 tablespoon (15ml) brandy or darkish rum, optionally available

• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for desk salt, use half as a lot by quantity

1. Regulate oven rack to center place and preheat to 350°F (175ºC). Add almond flour to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and unfold into a skinny, even layer. Toast in oven, stirring each 3 minutes, till the almond flour is aromatic and light-weight golden brown, about 10 minutes. Take away from oven and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

2. Within the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar, and orange zest, if utilizing, on low velocity to roughly incorporate. Enhance to medium-high velocity and beat till easy and creamy, about 3 minutes, pausing to scrape down bowl and beater with a versatile spatula as wanted. Add almond flour, all-purpose flour, egg, brandy (if utilizing), almond extract, vanilla extract, and salt. Combine on medium-high velocity till easy, thick, and creamy, pausing to to scrape down bowl and beater midway by way of, about 2 minutes. Utilizing a versatile spatula, scrape bowl and beater to make sure that no streaks of unmixed butter stay. (Almond cream will also be ready in a big bowl with an electrical hand mixer.)

3. Use instantly (see notes) or switch to an hermetic container and refrigerate for as much as 4 days.

Particular Tools

Parchment paper, rimmed baking sheet, stand mixer, versatile spatula

Notice

A notice on blanched or pure almond flour: The blanching course of removes the almond skins, so blanched almond flour has a finer texture than pure almond flour, which is floor from skin-on almonds. Blanched almond flour can be a stable beige colour whereas pure almond flour seems speckled. Both selection will work properly on this recipe; all of it comes down to non-public desire. 

Almond cream can be utilized to fill tarts, danishes, twice-baked almond croissants, and galette de rois (often known as King Cake, which is loved throughout Epiphany celebrations).