Let’s make this the summer of frangipane. I mean it! Frangipane in everything. Toast, pies, tarts, turnovers, croissants, pastries, French toast—everything. But let’s start with this Frangipane & Rhubarb Puff Pancake, okay? Okay. Glad that’s settled.

Now, if you’re over there going “WTF is frangipane and why won’t she shut up about it?” here’s a little explanation. Frangipane is almond pastry cream, the easiest pastry cream there is. Just blend together almond flour (or blanched almonds), all-purpose flour, sugar, butter, an egg, salt, and almond extract. Boom! Done! You have thick, creamy sweet almond frangipane at your disposal for any and all of your baking needs.

(I have a lot of baking needs.)

As detailed above, you can do many things with frangipane, but today we’re dropping spoonfuls haphazardly over the top of some eggy batter, scattering on little lengths of rhubarb and then baking it into a luxurious puff pancake. It’ll be tall and puffy (hence the name) when it comes out of the oven, but will quickly relax into something more rumpled and rustic, dotted with pockets of toasty almond cream and soft rhubarb. Find me a more flavorful sweet summer brunch. I’ll wait.

While rhubarb season is already waning, don’t fret! You can sub in any cherry, berry, or sliced stone fruit you love into this recipe with great success. Frangipane goes will just about everything. Watch out—I’m only getting started.

Frangipane & Rhubarb Puff Pancake {Dutch Baby}
makes 4-6 servings

1/2 recipe frangipane (recipe below)
2 thick or 3 thin stalks rhubarb
4 large eggs
1 cup milk (not skim or fat free)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
4 tablespoons butter (unsalted or salted)

Toppings (optional):
confectioner's sugar
lemon wedges
pure maple syrup
sliced almonds

Place a large ovenproof cast iron or stainless steel pan in a cold oven. Preheat oven to 400F.

Make frangipane according to recipe below. You will only need half for this recipe—set it in a space near the oven for easy access.

Trim off and discard rhubarb leaves (they are toxic). Wash and dry rhubarb stalks and slice into 1 1/2-2 inch lengths. If your rhubarb is thick, slice it in half for thinner pieces. Set in a space near the oven for easy access.

Make the puff pancake batter. In the bowl of a food processor or high-powered blender, combine eggs, milk, vanilla, flour, sugar, and salt. Process 30 seconds, or until no lumps remain. Let batter rest five minutes.

Once oven has reached 400F, remove the hot pan and add butter. Place pan back in the oven for 2 minutes, until butter has melted and begun browning. Remove pan from the oven, and swirl the butter so it coats the pan. Pour in batter.

Working very quickly, drop spoonfuls of frangipane and rhubarb over the top of the batter—don’t worry about specificity or creating a design, this should be done as quickly as you can without burning yourself. Bake 21-22 minutes, until puffed and golden. Do NOT open the oven door during baking.

Let pancake cool 2-5 minutes before slicing. Serve immediately with toppings of choice.

Frangipane {Almond Pastry Cream}
makes a heaping cup

1 cup blanched almond flour or 4 ounces blanched almonds
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
pinch of Kosher or sea salt
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold-ish room temperature, cut into cubes
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

Make the frangipane. In a food processor (or very good blender), pulse almond flour, all-purpose flour, salt and sugar together. Pulse in butter. Pour in egg and almond extract, and process until frangipane is a homogenous paste.