Almond Paste, Marzipan, Frangipane: What's the Difference? (2024)

FAQs

Almond Paste, Marzipan, Frangipane: What's the Difference? ›

Unlike almond paste and marzipan, it is not a product that you can buy off the supermarket shelf, so you need to make it yourself. Another difference between frangipane and almond paste and marzipan is the ingredients. In addition to almonds and sugar, frangipane contains eggs, butter, and flour.

Almond paste is more similar to marzipan than frangipane, but it's still distinctly its own. It's made of the same ingredients as marzipan but it's less sweet and richer in almond flavor. It's a bit more crumbly and coarse-textured and is used in baked goods such as these pignoli cookies.

The classic frangipane cream is mixed with crème pâtissière (pastry cream) for added flavor and texture. Crème d'Amande: Primarily composed of almond paste or marzipan, sugar, and butter. It's typically used as a cake or tart topping and has a denser, sweeter consistency.

The almond paste and almond filling are very different products and should not be used interchangeably in a recipe. The Almond Filling is a jam-like filling for cakes, pastries, and cookies. The Almond Paste is usually mixed or cut into a recipe for an almond flavor, or as a layer in tarts and pies.

German marzipan is made by grinding whole almonds with sugar and partially drying the paste, and French marzipan (called 'massepain') is made by combining ground almonds with sugar syrup. Some marzipan is flavoured with rosewater. Spanish marzipan is made without bitter almonds.

Almond paste has a coarser texture but is much softer than marzipan, which allows it to be spread as a filling. Unlike marzipan, almond paste holds up in baking. The sugar content of almond paste is lower and its almond content higher than marzipan.

Frangipane is a pastry filling made with finely ground almonds or almond meal. It is sometimes referred to as almond cream.

Marzipan and frangipane are only similar in the fact that they use almonds and have very similar-sounding names. Their purposes and textures, however, are very different, making them unable to be substituted with one another.

Many recipes for homemade almond paste call for egg white. Because almond paste is not consumed raw and is always baked at temperatures above 150 degrees F (65 degrees C) where the salmonella bacteria are killed, using egg white is less of a concern in almond paste than in marzipan.

Frangipane is fairly forgiving but like most things it does have a perfect point. It should rise in the oven and form a golden brown crust, with a just set centre. The main cause of undercooked frangipane is baking at too high a heat. The crust will brown too quickly, leaving a soggy centre.

Can almond paste go bad? ›

Almond paste products have a brief shelf life due to both lipid oxidation and hardening.

So the finely grated almond paste essentially breaks down, softens, "melts" during baking and becomes the centerpiece - making a gloriously melty, almond filling for your buns.

Almond paste is used throughout the world and is popular in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Germany, and France. It is found as a filling in pastries such as croissants and as an ingredient in muffins, biscuits, and cookies.

Also called almond candy dough, marzipan is an agreeable, multi-purpose combo of the first two, with a subtle almond flavor and unmatched malleability. Be sure to try these marzipan cake recipes.

The two products are different enough that, just like those near-doppelgängers cucumbers and zucchini, you shouldn't be swapping them willy-nilly. You can, however, MacGyver marzipan from almond paste by mixing it with additional sugar in the form of powered sugar, simple syrup, and/or corn syrup.

❓ What is Frangipane (Almond Cream)?

Regardless of its murky origins, Frangipane, "Crème d'Amande" in French, or Almond Cream, is made from only 5 ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, ground almonds and flour. It's beaten together to create a smooth, creamy almond filling.

What is Marzipan? Marzipan, also known as almond candy dough, is a smooth and pliable confectionary paste made from almonds that can be used as a cake icing or molded into candies. It features a clay-like consistency that makes it easy to handle.

Regardless of its murky origins, Frangipane, "Crème d'Amande" in French, or Almond Cream, is made from only 5 ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, ground almonds and flour. It's beaten together to create a smooth, creamy almond filling.

Chestnut paste is a sweet, nutty paste made from chestnuts that is often used as an alternative to almond paste in baking recipes.

The word frangipane is a French term used to name products with an almond flavour. The word comes ultimately from the last name of Marquis Muzio Frangipani or Cesare Frangipani. The word first denoted the frangipani plant, from which was produced the perfume originally said to flavor frangipane.