Almond Cream (Crème d'Amande): What It Is and How to Make It

Quick Summary: Crème d'amande, or French almond cream, is a smooth almond filling made from equal weights of butter, sugar, egg, and ground almonds. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to mix, must be cooked inside a pastry, and is used to fill fruit tarts, pithiviers, galette des rois, and almond croissants.

The beauty of the recipe is that the order of mixed ingredients does not really matter. The key is to ensure that the butter (fat) and eggs (liquid) are well incorporated.

Remember that this cream requires cooking.

What is almond cream?

The name comes from the French for almond cream, and the filling is sometimes described as a sweet almond puree because of its thick, spreadable texture. Unlike a raw nut paste, it always contains egg and is baked inside the pastry it fills, where it sets into a soft, moist almond layer.

According to the French, almond cream (crème d'amande) is a tant-pour-tant of butter, sugar, egg, and ground almonds, meaning that each ingredient is used by the same weight.

While you can replace ground almonds with almond meal, in the end, almond flour, the best almond cream is made with freshly made "tant pour tant." It is the French name for a 1:1 blend of sugar and almonds.

Almond cream vs. frangipane

Many people often mistake French almond cream for frangipane, but they are different. Frangipane cream is a blend of ⅔ almond cream and ⅓ pastry cream (crème pâtissière).

Why you'll love this recipe

• It is a basic recipe made with 4 simple ingredients in no time.
• Creme d'amande is an authentic, spreadable cream for puff pastry desserts, such as pithiviers, galette des rois (king cake), and tartes de d'artois.
• It is a perfect base for French fruit tarts with shortcrust pastry. It forms a protective barrier that keeps the fruit from making the pastry shell soggy.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

The basic almond cream recipe starts with a whole egg, about 50 g. Depending on the number of eggs, calculate the weight of ground almonds, butter, and sugar in a 1:1:1 ratio.

• Ground almonds are the main ingredient of the almond cream recipe. Use high-quality blanched almonds finely ground with a food processor into almond powder (poudre d'amande). For the best flavor, process the nuts at the last moment (not in advance).

To replace, you can use whole nuts to grind at home or store-bought almond meal. If it is unavailable, use blanched or unblanched almond flour.

• Sugar: The recipe calls for icing sugar (confectioners' or powdered sugar), but you can also use granulated sugar and even brown sugar.

• Butter: Use softened butter (beurre pommade) at room temperature. Opt for real European-style unsalted butter with 82% fat to bring a beautiful taste to the cream. Do not use melted butter. 

• Eggs: Use whole eggs at room temperature.

How to make almond cream

Step 1: Cut well-softened butter into cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add icing sugar and mix with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes. The butter mixture should become slightly whitish (photo 1).

Pro tip: Alternatively, use a hand whisk or a stand mixer (do not whisk for long, just mix).

Step 2: Add the whole egg and mix until smooth. Avoid beating for too long to prevent the butter from splitting.

Pro tip: If you double or triple the recipe, add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.

Step 3: Add ground almonds, flavorings, and flour (if used), and mix well with a wooden spoon. You should obtain a smooth and homogeneous cream (photo 2).

Pro tip: Do not whisk the almond cream to avoid incorporating air. Otherwise, it will swell during baking, resulting in an unattractive pastry. It does not change the taste, though.

The cream must be cooked. Use it immediately or refrigerate for 24-48 hours for later use.

For convenient storage, transfer cream to a pastry bag and cover the bowl with plastic wrap before refrigerating.

Expert Tips

1. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature.
2. Add eggs one at a time, better little by little, into the butter. This prevents the splitting of butter. Mix well, even vigorously, but not too long, between each addition.
3. Minimize the air in the preparation. Use a wooden or rubber spatula to add ground almonds instead of a whisk.

Recipe variations

The original almond cream recipe uses four ingredients. It does not include flour or starch. 

However, some recipes add flour or starch to give the cream firmness and prevent it from running during baking. 

There are some recipe variations you may consider:

• Nut flours: Replace half of the ground almonds with ground hazelnuts or hazelnut flour. Or use different nuts such as ground hazelnuts, pistachios, or pecans instead of almond powder.

• Butter: Replace half of the butter with heavy cream or mascarpone cheese.

• Flour: Add 2 tablespoons (15 g) of all-purpose flour to the recipe below.

• Salt is optional, but you can add a pinch.

• Heavy cream: Add 3 teaspoons (15 g) of heavy cream after mixing the eggs. It makes the cream more moist.

• Chocolate: Add ⅕ cup (25 g) of unsweetened cocoa powder to make chocolate almond cream.

• Flavorings: Add 1 tablespoon of dark rum or almond-flavored liqueur, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or orange flower water, a few drops of bitter almond extract, or citrus zest.

Storing & freezing

Store almond cream in an airtight container or plastic film-wrapped bowl in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.

Due to the presence of raw eggs, almond cream must be refrigerated and cooked within 24-48 hours.

Can you freeze almond cream? You can freeze the almond cream in a freezer-safe bag for 2 months.

Troubleshooting

My almond cream becomes grainy

Reasons:

• The eggs are too cold
• The butter is not softened enough.

How to prevent it:

• Bring eggs to room temperature 1-2 hours before you start. Or immerse eggs in shells in warm water for a few minutes.
• Bring the butter to the kitchen counter about 1-2 hours before starting the recipe. The butter must be creamy but not melted.
• Ensure you make the recipe in a kitchen with a temperature above 20°C. If the temperature is below this, the butter will start "freezing" when adding eggs (especially if the eggs are not at room temperature) and split.

To solve this problem, some bakers take a cautious approach by using a blowtorch near the mixer bowl while mixing the ingredients. They carefully move the flame around to prevent the appliance from cooking or burning.

The last solution is to change the order of ingredients:

• Add ground almonds to the butter and sugar mixture, then eggs.
• Mix all the ingredients in the food processor for 5 minutes, following the recommendation of Canadian baker Nicolas Néron.

How to use almond cream

Almond filling is used for garnishing the following pastries:

• Tarte bourdaloue - a pear tart with almond cream
• Tarte amandine - French almond tart
• Bakewell tart - a tart shell with frangipane filling, jam, and flaked almonds
• French king cake - a puff pastry with almond cream or frangipane (crème frangipane)
• Pithiviers - a puff pastry filled with almond cream
• Dartois - a puff pastry similar to a Pithiviers, but in a rectangular shape
• Almond croissants - a delicious anti-waste dessert

Recipe FAQ

What does crème d'amande mean?
Crème d'amande is French for "almond cream." It refers to a cooked pastry filling made from equal weights of butter, sugar, egg, and ground almonds, known in French as a tant pour tant.

Is almond cream the same as almond puree?
People sometimes call almond cream an almond puree because of its smooth, spreadable texture. However, almond cream is a specific baking filling that contains butter, sugar, and egg, while a plain almond puree is simply blended almonds.

Is almond cream marzipan?
Almond cream is a silky-smooth French cream that must be cooked and used to fill other pastries. Marzipan, on the other hand, is a firm mixture of almonds and sugar, ready to eat.

Is almond cream the same as almond paste?
Although both are used exclusively for baking, almond cream requires homemade preparation, whereas almond paste can be purchased at a grocery store. Almond cream has a softer consistency compared to almond paste.

Is almond cream the same as frangipane?
No. Almond cream is one component of frangipane, which combines 2 parts almond cream with 1 part pastry cream (crème pâtissière).

Can you eat almond cream raw?
No. Almond cream contains raw egg and butter, so it must be baked inside a pastry before eating. Use it immediately, or refrigerate it and cook it within 24 to 48 hours.

Love almond desserts? Try these next!

• Italian almond cake
• Gâteau Nantais (French almond rum cake)
• French almond cake
• Cantucci (Italian almond biscuits)
• Fig And Almond Cake

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.