FRANGIPANE. BECAUSE, ALMONDS.

And figs and blueberries, if you please.

As the flowers of the frangipani tree fall like stunned butterflies at our feet, a frangipane tart comes to mind. Not with the flowers, but with frangipane, the thick, creamy paste of almonds, sugar, butter and egg that brings pleasure wherever it goes.

There’s a soft, enveloping richness about frangipane that’s very appealing. I love how it bakes up and around the fruit on top, cushioning it with pillowy cake.

While it’s traditionally baked within a tart base, I wondered what it would be like if it were just allowed to be cake, rather than forced into being a filling for something restrictive and proscribed.

Very nice, it turns out.

Frangipane takes its name from a seventeenth century nobleman in Paris - either the Marquis Muzio Frangipani or Don Cesare Frangipani - who devised a perfume based on bitter almonds that was used for scenting the gloves of Louis XIII.

This was quite a common ploy at a time when various stenches filled the streets – you could at least raise your gloved hand to your nose, and mask the smell.

The court went mad for it, which inspired the day’s pastry chefs to come up with a similar fragrance in various pastry creams involving eggs, butter, flour and almonds - or, frangipane.

If you have ever had the pleasure of climbing an almond tree and sitting among the blossoms, or among the nuts themselves, encased in their velvety green pods, then you’ll understand their response. To smell almond, is to love almond.

In its own way, frangipane is quite a delicate thing; not overly sweet or as heavy as marzipan; just moist, rich and a little dense. Like this, below. A touch of vanilla extract brings out the inherent vanilla-bean quality and nutty warmth of the almonds.

It’s made for late summer’s stone fruits - apricots, peaches or plums – which can be baked as part of the frangipane, or gently poached with spices and served alongside.

I’ve used figs and blueberries here, because that’s what I had. Or rather, that’s what Terry had planned for our breakfast, until they were swiped for my frangipane.

Note to self: serve frangipane for breakfast.

The before, obviously.

FRANGIPANE WITH FIGS

• 125 g butter, softened

• 125 g caster sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 125 g ground almonds (almond meal)

• 2 tbsp plain flour, sifted

• 3 or 4 figs

• 50 g blueberries or other berries

• 1 tbsp granulated sugar

• Icing sugar and flaked almonds for serving

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-forced).

Lightly grease a 20 cm pie dish or gratin dish with a little of the butter.

Beat remaining butter in an electric mixer or with electric beaters until smooth.

Add the sugar and beat until creamy, scraping down the sides once or twice.

Add the eggs one a time, beating well, and vanilla extract.

Gently fold in the ground almonds and flour, without over-mixing.

Spoon the mixture into the pie dish, levelling the top.

Thickly slice the figs and arrange the best slices over the top (eat the rest).

Scatter the blueberries and granulated sugar over the top, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until puffy and golden (an inserted skewer should come out clean).

Dust with icing sugar, and serve warm or cool from the pie dish, with yoghurt or cream. Serves 3-4.

# Do a quick berry syrup as well. Throw a handful of blueberries into a small pan with a tablespoon of sugar and another of water and allow to slowly heat through and soften. Let the juices, sugar and water come together into a syrup, and the berries will go all cute and glossy. That’s it – pull it off the heat, and serve with the frangipane and cream or yoghurt.

# Try making it with ground hazelnuts instead of almonds.

# Don’t use the food processor. Apart from creaming the butter and sugar, frangipane likes being under-processed, or can be quite heavy and dense. Folding in the ground almonds by hand helps keep the lightness in the mix.

# Try it with other fruit such as poached pears (a classic), in autumn and winter.

# If your fruit sinks into the batter - great! Just serve with a little extra fruit and cream or yoghurt on top, and get double the fun. Who gives a fig? It will be divine.

Thanks for dropping by! And thanks for your comments and suggestions. Special thanks to Terry for donating his breakfast figs and blueberries to the cause.

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I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. Thank you for sharing your culture, traditions, knowledge, spirit, art, music, humour and food traditions, allowing us all to experience a greater sense of belonging in this ancient land.