diff --git a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/core_extensions/front_matter.rb b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/core_extensions/front_matter.rb
index e585bec9..b3d3c29a 100644
--- a/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/core_extensions/front_matter.rb
+++ b/middleman-core/lib/middleman-core/core_extensions/front_matter.rb
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ module Middleman::CoreExtensions::FrontMatter
       if @local_data.has_key?(path.to_s)
         @local_data[path.to_s]
       else
-        {}.freeze
+        [ ::Middleman::Util.recursively_enhance({}).freeze, nil ]
       end
     end