If you’re like me, you have watched endless hours of the Great British Bake Off during quarantine! One of the flavors that the contestants consistently use is frangipane. Being America, even though I do have British cousins, I had to google what the heck frangipane is.
Frangipane is basically an almond cake with a super chewy texture. It can be baked as a stand alone dessert but is usually part of a tart. It pairs well with pretty much any fruit and definitely with chocolate!
I hope you enjoy this recipe and that it provides you a little bit of international flavor in our seemingly endless days of quarantine.
Chocolate Base
½ Cup butter (1 stick)
½ Cup powdered sugar
1 Egg
1 ½ Cups flour
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg, flour, cocoa powder and salt and mix with mixer until a dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
While the dough is in the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and make the frangipane.
Frangipane
1 Egg yolk
½ Cup butter (1 stick) room temperature
½ Cup sugar
1 Cup almond flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill) 1 Tablespoon flour
1 Teaspoon vanilla
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the almond flour and egg, mix until well combined. Mix in flour and vanilla extract until well combined.
Line a 9x9 in square pan with parchment paper. Roll out the chocolate dough and cute to fit the bottom of the pan. Spread the frangipane on top of the chocolate base in an even layer and bake for 45-50 minutes until browned on top.
Let cool completely and take out of pan. Place on a wire cooling rack and make chocolate ganache.
Chocolate Ganache
1 Bag dark chocolate chips
½ Cup milk
1 Tablespoon butter or coconut oil
Place chocolate chips in a medium sized mixing bowl. Heat the milk over medium-low heat until hot. Do not let it boil! Pour the milk over the chocolate and begin to whisk. Whisk until smooth, adding more warmed milk if necessary.
Add in butter or coconut oil and whisk to combine. Spread the ganache in a thick layer over the top of the frangipane and sprinkle with desired sprinkles or other toppings, such as raspberries cut in half and placed to resemble hearts. Let set in the fridge overnight.
Cut the bars into squares and enjoy!
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