Frangipane is used commonly to refer to a filling made from almonds or that tastes like almonds. This filling can be used in a variety of ways including cakes, tarts and other assorted pastries. An alternative French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is franchipane with earliest modern spelling coming from a 1732 confectioners' dictionary. Originally designated as a custard tart that is flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods.

It is supposed that this is a kind of sweet a noblewoman Jacopa da Settesoli brought to St. Francis of Assisi, when he was dying in 1226.

There is an unclear linguistic connection between frangipani the flower; Frangipani, the nobleman perfume maker to King Louis XIII of France and the food product.

Frangipane can also refer to:

1. A custard filling flavored with almonds and/or crushed macaroons.
2. A Belgian almond pastry tart. Usually the individual cakes have a striped pattern on top, occasionally with icing (looks a little like a hot cross bun from above).
3. Frangipane tree as in John Vanderslice's song Kookaburra

References

• "Frangipane." Oxford Companion to Food (1999), 316.