frangipane

Frangipane is a creamy filling made with crème pâtissière combined with crème d’amande (powdered almonds mixed with butter, sugar and eggs).

Frangipane is used in several French cakes and pastries, especially in the galette des rois, Jésuite, and pithivier.

Which Frangipani was it?

Who invented frangipane and when is complicated. The first written record of the recipe (for a tourte de Franchipane) only dates from 1651, by French food writer La Varenne, so you can pick whichever version you like:

The classic story is that frangipane came to France with Catherine de' Medici, who brought as her private glove perfumer (perfumed gloves were a very big deal in the Renaissance) a certain Cesare Frangipani of the noble Roman family. One version is that he invented the sweet cream to match the scent of the gloves and gave it to Catherine as a present when she wed the future Henri II, aged 14, in 1533.