Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

We all like to eat a moist cake! This is actually a tart, which originated in France. There are references from as bar back as 1226, and one of the earliest recipes for this can be found in a 1674 cookbook. Unbelievable! Frangipane is the description used for the almond filling, which is mainly made up of, yep, you guessed it, 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.

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Some recipes fill the flan case with almond and then put say a 1 cm layer of chocolate over the top. The recipe I am showing you today is using cherries which I had left over from the other day when I made the cherry and custard pastries.

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

It adds a lovely contrast of colour to the tart, and the flavour of the sweet almond, combined with the sharp cherries is a delicious taste. The bite of the crispy pastry, against the soft, moist almond filling, and then the slight chew of the cherries are also a lovely texture sensation.

I have also made a recipe up to show you how to make your own shortcrust pastry. Of course, you can buy the shop stuff, but this recipe is easy, cheaper and by far more tasty! You can make little flans, but make sure you adjust the cooking times. So go on, give it a go! Try out a recipe similar to what our ancient ancestors were crazy about!

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

TOP TIPS!
1. As with any pastry cases, if you are going to put a 'wet' filling in, then you will need to 'bake blind' first to stop the pastry from going soggy. No one likes a soggy bottom! I have some instructions in a link below to help you with this if needed.

Check out our handy Oven Temperature Conversion Guide!

2. You can use this recipe for Gluten Free by substituting the flour in the pastry & also the filling with gluten-free flour.

Ingredients

6 oz or 170 g Shortcrust pastry. See here to make your own Shortcrust pastry.
3 Teaspoons warmed Cherry Jam
1 cup or 250 g cherries canned, frozen or fresh, pitted & halved
4 ½ oz or ½ cup 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 tsp baking powder or the same amount in Tapioca flour)
4 Tablespoons milk.

Instructions

First things first! Get all your ingredients ready. I like to weigh out and put everything in order of adding into the recipe, like in my mini production line picture below. If it's all ready, you will whizz through the recipe and NOT forget anything!

 Cherry Frangipane, prepare ingredients

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 instructions.

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

Shortcrust Pastry, rolled out

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

lining dish with pastry

Make sure you gently push the sides around the dish

push sides of pastry

and trim any excess pastry.

trim edges of 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.

Bake Blind


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 like the photo on the below left. Say about 70% cooked, and ready for the filling.

Bake Blind pastry case
Part Cooked Pastry Case

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

What is Bake 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.

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. Spread the warmed jam onto the base of your pastry. Add the cake mixture to the flan case.

frangipane mixture in flan case

13. Arrange the cherries on the surface. Don't push them right into the mixture. Let them sit on top.

cherries arranged on frangipane

14. Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes. Test with a metal skewer. Stick it in the centre, if it comes out clean your frangipane is ready!

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

15. Leave to cool then turn out onto a dish.

16 Make yourself a lovely cup of tea and enjoy a slice of your tart.

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

If you have some leftover cherries, why not try our easy cherry cream cheese crescent roll bars. So delicious and quick to make too!

We'd love to hear from you and what you thought of our cherry frangipane recipe. Did you make any changes or add some other goodies? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and happy cooking!

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

Recipe Card

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

Cherry Frangipane

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Cherry Frangipane! What a delight to bake and eat. It's a lovely recipe and so full of flavor. The filling is a lovely soft almond cake with cherries on the top, baked in a pastry case. Delicious!

Ingredients

  • 6 oz or 170 g Shortcrust pastry. See here to make your own Shortcrust pastry.
  • 3 Teaspoons warmed Cherry Jam
  • 1 cup or 250 g cherries canned or fresh, pitted & halved
  • 4 ½ oz or ½ cup 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 tsp baking powder or same amount in Tapioca flour)
  • 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 instructions. Grease your flan dish & make sure you grease up the sides too.
  3. Place your rolled out pastry in to your chosen dish. Make sure you gently push the sides around the dish and trim any excess pastry.
  4. If you see any cracks or missing bits of pastry, use the excess from your trimming to patch these areas.
  5. 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.
  6. Place in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes (for a 23 cm, 9 inch dish). If using smaller cases, reduce the cooking time.
  7. When ready, the flan case should look like the photo. Say about 70% cooked, and ready for the filling.

Make The Filling

  1. Cream the butter and sugar until light in colour and fluffy. Slowly add the beaten eggs. If the mixture looks like it is starting to split, add a tablespoon of your ground almonds.
  2. Add almonds and flour. Add the milk and gently (low setting on your mixture) combine.
  3. Spread the warmed jam onto the base of your pastry. Add the cake mixture to the flan case.
  4. Arrange the cherries on the surface. Don't push them right into the mixture. Let them sit on top.
  5. Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes. Test with a metal skewer. Stick it in the centre, if it comes out clean your frangipane is ready!
  6. Leave to cool then turn out onto a dish . Make yourself a lovely cup of tea and enjoy a slice of your tart.

Notes

Please note, prep times will be a little longer if you are making your own pastry.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 445Total Fat: 29gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 99mgSodium: 324mgCarbohydrates: 41gFiber: 3gSugar: 27gProtein: 8g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate

Delicious Cake Recipes using Almonds

If you like almonds as much as we do, try out these other cake recipes using ground almonds in the cake batter. Delicious!

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18 thoughts shared

  1. Comment author image

    Michael Miller

    says:

    Hi Mary, (Lei ho ma?)
    This looks delicious and I love almonds. I really don’t want to start messing with dough, and the pre-made doughs that I have found in the supermarkets have been made with lard….I don’t like the mouth feel of it! Have you ever tried adding more flour to the filling and making it like a clafouti? It would probably be just as tasty, yet easier for lazier people like me.
    Thanks, Michael

    1. Ahh I’m very well thank you Michael!
      You can make this without pastry. You don’t need to add any extra flour, just be sure to line the bottom of a pan with some parchment paper. I’d also suggest a smaller pan, say a 6-7 inch round or square pan so you get a bit more depth to it. Keep an eye on the bake time, but at a guess, around 25-30 mins if using the pan size suggested at the same oven temp as the frangipane.
      Hope that helps and have a wonderful weekend!
      Mary

  2. 5 stars
    Absolutely amazing…..a big hit with the family and so easy to make, although I do cheat and use shop bought pastry ? I also add 1 teaspoon of almond essence. I have also made using nectarines which is just as tasty.

  3. Hello and thank you for sharing this recipe.
    Can i make this tart and freeze it? Will it defrost well.
    I am going on a family holiday in ten days and would like to make the tart before hand so I’m not rushing.

    1. Hi Addy, yes, this freezes very well and you just need to defrost at room temperature and it is fine with the pastry still delicious!
      Just make sure it’s wrapped well so no air can get in and it shouldn’t dry out at all.
      Have a lovely holiday!

  4. Comment author image

    Gabriella Cæsarsen

    says:

    5 stars
    Made it twice now, we love it. Added 1/4 tsp almond essence and some almond flakes on the top. Really good recipe, thanks!

  5. 5 stars
    Thank you, I love this recipe. I use maple syrup instead of sugar in both the pastry and the tart and it is delicious. Not too sweet ,easy to make, very yummy and gone very quickly!

    1. Oh, Tasha! It is a favourite in our house too! So delicious, and I hope you will give the pastry a go too, it is very easy to make and much tastier than shop bought :) I’m glad you enjoy the recipes