This Berry Frangipane Cake is a lot of work, and it shows! This cake would make for a stunning breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Frangipane is a kind of pastry filling made from almond flour. It is absolutely delicious, imbuing treats with nuttiness and sweetness.
In this cake, frangipane works alongside cake batter to form the base for a lovely topping of formerly-frozen fruit and sliced almonds. I used a pretty standard fruit mix with raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries, and it’d come from the dollar store.
If you want to use a single frozen fruit or a more select mix, go for it. Just remember that it should be thawed, drained, and patted dry, and if the pieces are very large, they should probably be cut to be around bite-size.
I found that this kept perfectly well in individually-wrapped pieces at room temperature for about 2 days. It was also great to freeze. I had pieces frozen for weeks and then thawed them, and it was impossible to tell they’d ever been in the freezer.
Greatly modified from Bake from Scratch January/February 2021 issue.
Bready or Not Original: Berry Frangipane Cake
Equipment
- 9-inch springform pan
- parchment paper
- offset spatula
- 2 cookie scoops
Ingredients
Frangipane
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups superfine almond flour sifted if thick or clumpy
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Batter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, room temperature
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup milk or half & half
Fruit topping
- 3/4 cup frozen mixed berries drained, thawed, and patted dry
- 3 Tablespoons sliced almonds
- confectioners' sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Cut a piece of parchment to fit the base of a 9-inch springform pan. Spray pan with nonstick spray, place paper cut-out inside, then spray that as well. Set aside.
- Make the frangipane. In a bowl, beat the butter until it’s creamy. Add the rest of the ingredients to combine well. Set aside.
- Make the batter. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until they are fluffy. In a stand mixer, this will be 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg followed by the extracts,
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the butter-batter alternatively with the milk. Scrape the bottom of the bowl often.
- Scoop about 1 cup of the batter into the pan and even out with an offset spatula. Measure out about 1 cup of the frangipane. Use two spring-loaded cookie scoops (tablespoon or teaspoon-sized, or without those, use a normal tablespoon and get your fingers dirty), scoop from the 1 cup frangipane and the batter to create a checkerboard pattern of dollops atop of base. Continue to alternate in a second layer, using up the rest of the batter as well as the 1 cup frangipane. Use a butter knife to swirl through them to create a slight marbled effect. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to knock out bubbles.
- Use a scoop to place the rest of the frangipane on the top of the cake. Even out with offset spatula. Place the berries atop the frangipane, then sprinkle the almonds all over to coat.
- Bake until the cake has set edges, about 50 minutes to 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer plunged into the middle should read over 202-degrees. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then release the side clasp. Continue to cool the cake on the metal base until room temperature. Add a sprinkle of confectioners' sugar to pretty it up for serving.
- Cake will keep covered for up to 2 days at room temperature. It can also be individually sliced and frozen for later enjoyment.
