Crème d’amandes is a sweet almond paste.
It is used in croissants aux amandes and in making Crème Frangipane. It is also used to fill galette des rois, and pithiviers.
It is made from equal parts (at least in the metric measurements used by the French) of white sugar, butter, almonds, and eggs.
For industrial baking, you can buy 50 pound (22 kg) bags of Creme d’Amandes powder, that you mix with water and butter until it is smooth. The powder is made by companies such as “Komplet.” It actually does contain ground almonds.
Cooking Tips
100g (1/2 cup / 4 oz) white sugar (preferably caster but granulated is fine)
100g (1 cup / 3 1/2 oz) finely ground almonds (almond flour)
100g (1/2 cup / 1 stick / 4 oz) “beurre en pommade” (slightly softened butter)*
100g eggs (2 medium eggs)
Put the sugar and almond flour in a food processor; whiz until blended. Add the butter in chunks, whiz again. Whiz in the eggs one at a time, and whiz at the end until you are satisifed that it is creamy.
*You can soften the butter quickly by chunking it, then creaming it with electric handmixers, or with the food processor.