Easy Plum Frangipane

Plum Frangipane, a delicious almond cake bursting with juicy plums in a sweet pastry case. Great served warm or chilled for dessert or Afternoon Tea.

Frangipane is a wonderful type of cake/ tart. The flavors in the cake filling are just wonderful.

You get a lovely soft, moist texture from the almond cake and then a sweet crispy pastry texture from the base of the tart.

This is a lovely dessert to make for any occasion, and often, it's made for eating during an English Afternoon Tea or High Tea.

You can eat this as a dessert, served warm with a scoop of your favorite ice cream, or serve at room temperature just as it is.

For this recipe, we've used plums. Fresh plums are incredibly juicy, and when they've been baked, they're even juicier! If you have never tried using plums in baking, give it a go. They're delicious!

This frangipane is made up of a pastry case, a cake filling and a topping of fruit. You will find it very easy to make, and don't be intimidated by the fact there is pastry! Making your own pie crust is really very easy, and uses basic ingredients so go ahead and try it. You can make it by hand, so no need for any fancy equipment.

What is a Frangipane?

Frangipane is the description used for the almond filling, which is mainly made up of almonds!

There are variations to frangipane, for example, in Belgium, it is called an Almond pastry tart, usually with a striped pattern on top made up of icing.

Some recipes fill the flan case with almond and then put say a 1 cm layer of chocolate over the top.

What is baking blind?

The Bake Blind technique is used when you have a 'wet' filling or the filling cooks faster than the pastry.

If you were to simply place the filling onto the raw pastry, the base would never cook properly resulting in a very soggy bottom!

This method is also used if you are putting a ready-cooked filling in the flan case, such as a mousse or chocolate torte which doesn't require any baking.

How do you make shortcrust pastry?

We have a great recipe for making your own homemade shortcrust pastry over at Lovefoodies. there's a step by step instructions and it's really quick and fuss-free to make. Most of all, it tastes delicious!

Can you freeze Frangipane?

Yes, frangipane freezes very well. You just need to defrost at room temperature and serve as normal.

What fruits can I use in a frangipane?

The recipe I am showing you today is using lovely juicy plums and the flavor of the sweet almond.

The bite of the crispy pastry, against the soft, moist almond filling, and the burst of juicy plums in every bite is also a lovely texture sensation.

What You Will Need

a flan / quiche dish 23 cm / 9 inch diameter.

Prep Time

40 Minutes (includes pre bake of pastry)

Cook Time

30 Minutes

Serves

8 Slices using a 9-inch tart

Ingredients

6 oz or 170 g Shortcrust pastry

2 Tablespoons warmed Plum Jam

4 ½ oz or 125 g butter

½ cup or 125 g Sugar

2 eggs

1 ⅓ cups or 125 g ground almonds

2 ½ Tablespoons All-purpose, Plain Flour. (if you don't want to use flour, swap it for extra ground almonds & 1 teaspoon baking powder or the same amount in Tapioca flour)

4 Fresh Plums

4 Tablespoons milk

Instructions

Make The Pastry

1. If you are using a shop-bought pastry case, skip to the FILLING instructions. Put the oven on to 190 C, 375 F, Gas 5

2. Make your shortcrust pastry. Click here for easy instructions on how to make your own pastry.

3. Grease your flan dish & make sure you grease up the sides too.

4. Place your rolled out pastry into your chosen dish.

Make sure you gently push the sides around the dish and trim any excess pastry.

5. If you see any cracks or missing bits of pastry, use the excess from your trimming to patch these areas.

6. Now you will need to prepare the flan case to take the wet filling.

You need to first 'Bake blind' the pastry. See here for more information. You need to bake blind for 20 minutes in the oven.

7. Place in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes (for a 23 cm, 9-inch dish). If using smaller cases, reduce the cooking time.

8. When ready, the flan case should look about 70% cooked, and ready for the filling.

9. Once you have baked blind your pastry, you need to get all your filling ingredients ready if you haven't done so already.

Make The Filling

10. Cream the butter and sugar until light in color and fluffy.

Slowly add the beaten eggs.

If the mixture looks like it is starting to split, add a tablespoon of your ground almonds.

11. Add almonds and flour. Add the milk, and gently (low setting on your mixture) combine.

12. Pop the plum jam in a small bowl or cup and microwave for 20 seconds. 

Spread the warmed jam onto the base of your pastry.

Cut the plums in half and remove the stone from inside.

Add the cake mixture to the flan case.

Arrange the plum halves on the top of the cake filling. 

Don't push the plums down into the batter as they will get lost inside.

Simply pop them gently on the surface and they will stay there during baking. 

You can make any pattern you wish or be random. 

13. Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes.

Test with a metal skewer. Stick it in the center, if it comes out clean your plum frangipane is ready!

14. Leave to cool on a rack

then turn out onto a dish or board.

You can eat this completely on its own or serve it with a blob of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or some homemade custard.

This frangipane will keep moist in an airtight container for a few days or alternatively, you can freeze it whole or in slices.

If you'd like to see our other frangipane recipes from Lovefoodies, take a look below. There are apple, cherry, and orange recipes, so something for everyone!

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