Easy Weekend baking … Strawberry Frangipane with a gluten free option…. From the heart of the MediterraneanLea Hogg's Blog Subscribe for regular updates

Frangipan is a baked almond cream usually used to fill tarts.

My frangipan today is a soft, moist cake, alone with no tart case or heavy topping, simply topped with fresh strawberries before baking and you can use any fruit. Its amazingly light and delicious if eaten fresh on the same day, although it does keep for a week in an airtight container and remains moist. The fresh strawberries soften and ooze their natural juices and the flavors are mmmmm…words cannot describe as I also added some Clementine zest to the batter but this is optional.

Frangipan is most commonly used in French style pastries as a middle layer in a tart, between the pastry case and the topping. I have adjusted this filling and here it is today without a tart case, a much lighter version and it is the quickest, easiest, most delicious bake, a great dessert if you are in a hurry.

This recipe also has a gluten free option which I made last week and it works very well. I break the eggs and measure the volume. Accuracy in measuring is important with this one and it is worth taking that extra care as you then just throw everything together and thats it! I also use a cake ring rather than a cake tin. This gives a much better result; you also do not need to grease the rings and once the cake cools, you simply ease it out of the ring with a gentle push. If you are more comfortable using the creaming method and adding the eggs and flour gradually, feel free to do so but I take the easy route with an all-in-one and it works beautifully !

If you are having guests today, try this, you will not be disappointed and I guarantee that you will make it again and again ….

You will need :

For a gluten free cake use 410g ground almonds and leave out the flour
300g butter, soft
300g sugar
300g eggs, beaten and weighed
300g pure ground almonds
110g self-raising flour
I also added the zest of a fresh clementine but this is optional
Fresh Strawberries and I calculate one per portion of cake.

With an electric hand whisk mix all the ingredients thoroughly together until you have an even consistency. Pour the batter into a cake tin and flatten the surface with a spatula dipped in water. Top with a neatly cut strawberries spread open like a fan. Bake at 165C for 25 minutes, but you need to adjust cooking time depending on the size of cake tin you choose. Allow to cool. Gently ease out of the cake ring. You can dust with icing sugar but this is optional, according to what you prefer.

And yesterday I spent a bright sunny afternoon with a good friend who is more like a sister snoozing in her garden looking at the beautiful palm trees, dreaming, wishing, hoping for good things to come. The sun makes me happy.