Frangipan Cream

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart (2-litre) heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Medium heatproof mixing bowl
• •Balloon whisk
• •Flat-edged silicone spatula or wooden spoon
• •Digital kitchen scale
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Parchment paper

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the finish

   Cut a sheet of parchment to fit directly against the surface of the finished cream. Butter one side of it and the back of a metal spoon with the ½ teaspoon butter. Set out a wide heatproof bowl, the soft butter, and the finely crushed macaroons. Beat the third yolk, measure 9 g of it, and combine that half yolk with the two whole yolks. The fraction is deliberate: it keeps this home batch at exactly half the book's proportion.

2. 2

   Make the egg paste

   Whisk the powdered sugar and flour together in a heatproof mixing bowl, breaking up every flour pocket before liquid arrives. Add the whole egg and measured yolks, then whisk from the centre outward until the mixture becomes a thick, perfectly smooth paste. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so no dry flour remains.

3. 3

   Temper with boiling milk

   Bring the milk to a full boil in the heavy saucepan, watching closely so it does not rise over the rim. Pour the first third over the egg paste in a thin stream while whisking briskly; once the paste loosens, add the remaining milk steadily. Whisk in the salt and vanilla, then scrape the mixture back into the saucepan.

4. 4

   Cook without pause

   Set the saucepan over medium-low heat and stir continuously with a flat-edged spatula, tracing the centre, circumference, corners, and entire pan floor. The cream will thicken abruptly. Once bubbles break through the centre, lower the heat and keep it at a gentle boil for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring without pause so the flour cooks through. If lumps form, lift the pan from the heat and whisk hard, then pass the cream through a fine sieve before continuing. If you smell scorching or feel a rough patch beneath the spatula, stop scraping immediately and pour the clean upper cream into a fresh saucepan, leaving the caught layer behind. Ça se rattrape if there are no black flecks or bitter smell; if bitterness has spread, begin again.

   A heavy saucepan slows the heat reaching the pan floor, but it does not replace stirring. Keep the spatula moving until the cream leaves the heat.
5. 5

   Finish off the heat

   Immediately pour the cooked cream into the prepared bowl. Add the 43 g soft butter in three portions, stirring until each disappears before adding the next, then fold in the crushed dry macaroons. The finished frangipane should be thick, smooth, and visibly glossy. If the butter pools because the cream has cooled too far, set the bowl over warm water and whisk until the emulsion returns, never over direct heat.

6. 6

   Guard the surface

   Smooth the surface with the buttered back of the spoon, then press the parchment directly against the cream, buttered side down. Let it cool for 15 minutes and refrigerate for about 45 minutes, until thoroughly cold. Before filling a tart or spooning it into small dessert cups, work the frangipane slowly with a spatula to restore its suppleness. If it has set too firmly, stir in cold milk 1 teaspoon at a time, stopping as soon as it falls from the spoon in a slow, heavy ribbon. À table!

Chef Tips

• •The source's pint is an imperial pint, about 570 ml, rather than a 475 ml US pint. This exact half batch therefore uses 285 ml milk, which keeps the flour, egg, and liquid balance intact.
• •Most packaged powdered sugar contains a little cornstarch, while this formula already relies on flour. Starch-free powdered sugar, or granulated sugar ground finely at home, gives the closest result; ordinary confectioners' sugar works but sets the cream slightly tighter.
• •Use a plain, dry almond macaroon that crushes into fine crumbs, not a coconut macaroon or a filled sandwich macaron. The biscuit is the almond foundation of this particular frangipane, not a decoration.
• •The source calls this an average consistency and permits the flour to change with the cream's purpose. Keep 28 g for the first batch. Later, 24 g makes a softer spoon cream and 32 g a firmer pastry filling, with every other quantity unchanged.
• •Butter goes in after the saucepan leaves the heat. Butter, not margarine. Stirring it into the hot custard builds the gloss and richness that define the finish.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the frangipane up to 2 days ahead. Keep the parchment pressed directly against its surface and refrigerate it at or below 4°C; stir it gently before using.
• •The dry macaroons can be crushed and the parchment cut earlier in the day. Let the finishing butter soften for about 30 minutes before cooking so it emulsifies without cooling the custard abruptly.
• •Do not freeze the finished cream. Freezing weakens the butter-and-custard emulsion, leaving the thawed frangipane grainy and prone to weeping.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 100g)