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Almond friands

15/7/2015

22 Comments

 
Almond friands by Liz Posmyk Good Things
Friandises are high on the list of fashionable foods at present. Foodies and cooks en masse are drooling over friand recipes - reading about the delicious little treats in gourmet mags, ordering them in cafes, and baking them at home.

As a point of clarification, my 1984 copy of Larousse Gastronomique describes a friand as 'a small puff-pastry case filled with sausage meat, minced meat, ham or cheese'.  Further, a friand can also be 'a small sweet pastry, a barquette (boat shaped tart) often made with an almond paste filling and elaborately decorated'.

A friandise, Larousse explains, is the French term for a delicacy when referring to patisserie or sweetmeats. 'The word is often used for petit fours or sweets eaten between meals... and is used to mean a treat in the general sense.'

While some friands are baked in the shape of a muffin, the current trend in friands is a petite, featherlight almond cake baked in a special oval-shaped mould. These friands are gluten free. Sometimes I add some berry fruits, such as raspberries or blueberries. Sometimes I leave them plain. 

My recipe is adapted from A Passionate Cook by Margaret Fulton (Lansdowne, 1998). Margaret baked them one time when she presented a class at my former cooking school. It was then that I fell in love with them! Enjoy  ❤ ❤ ❤

ALMOND FRIANDISES
185g unsalted butter
11/2 cups almond meal (ground almonds)
300g icing sugar, sifted
1/3 cup plus one tablespoon plain flour, sifted
5 free-range egg whites
1/2 cup raspberries or blueberries, fresh or frozen, optional

Grease the moulds or patty pans well with butter. Preheat your oven to 230 degrees C. Melt the butter in a small saucepan; cooking it gently until it is pale golden in colour. Pour into a small jug and set aside. Add the ground almonds, sifted icing sugar and sifted flour, and process until mixed.  Add the egg whites and the warm butter, pouring the butter in carefully to hold back any of the browned solids that will sink to the bottom of the jug.  Mix together well.  Spoon the mixture into the prepared moulds or patty pans, about half filling each mould.  Place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 200 degrees C and bake for a further 12-15 minutes.  If using patty pans, these could take 8-10 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the friands in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack. Makes 12.  

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Almond Friands by Good Things
Almond friands by Liz Posmyk Good Things
Melting butter for friands
Making friands

Tell me dear readers and fellow cooks, do you bake or buy friands? 
22 Comments
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts link
14/7/2015 05:51:15 pm

Oh these look so pretty. Perfect for afternoon tea.
Pinning this one :-)
x

Reply
John / Kitchen Riffs link
15/7/2015 05:33:08 am

I've never made a friand! I'll probably get kicked out of the foodie club. ;-) This is definitely one of those things I need to try. Yours looks wonderful! Thanks so much.

Reply
e / dig in hobart link
15/7/2015 11:21:38 am

are friands making a comeback? yay! they really are a lovely classic cake.
I do love the oval shaped ones. not sure if I can justify another cake tin though ...

Reply
Hotly Spiced link
15/7/2015 11:43:15 am

I do love that first image. I must get myself a friand pan. I do much prefer these to muffins - the texture is so much better and it's good they can also be GF (if you omit that 1tbspn of plain flour!) xx

Reply
Joanne T Ferguson link
15/7/2015 01:10:39 pm

Great recipe Lizzy! I wish I could try one with my tea now! Any recipe inspired by Margaret Fulton would be great! I can almost smell them from here!

Reply
Amanda (@lambsearsandhoney) link
15/7/2015 01:21:03 pm

Is cake. Is good.
I've never made them as I don't have the right pan, but I eat them every chance I get.

Reply
Elizabeth link
15/7/2015 09:25:04 pm

Perfect timing I just bough an friand tin (because I need more stuff in my kitchen) So thanks for sharing YAY! Liz x

Reply
Tandy | Lavender and Lime link
15/7/2015 09:48:20 pm

I have not made these in an age! Thanks for the reminder, and the inspiration to add some fruit to them :)

Reply
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella link
15/7/2015 10:50:50 pm

I love friands. They are the perfect size and feather light too which is perfect in the afternoon :)

Reply
David link
16/7/2015 02:22:21 am

Liz - these look so wonderful - and really quite simple, as you point out. Never having seen the moulds, can you tell my how long each is? (When you get back - no rush!) I may just try baking them in some moulds I already have just for fun.

Reply
Gourmet Getaways link
16/7/2015 03:57:37 am

Aww..what good-looking friands you have here. Love the flavours provided by the almond meal and fruits!

Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx

Reply
Laura (Tutti Dolci) link
16/7/2015 06:50:59 am

I love friands, and almond friands are simply divine!

Reply
Fiona @TIFFINbitesized
16/7/2015 08:51:38 pm

You say Friandise, I say Friand - either way they are delicious! Thanks for the little history lesson too! xxx

Reply
Karen (Back Road Journal) link
17/7/2015 10:00:54 am

Sometimes the simplest of desserts are the best.

Reply
Gerlinde
17/7/2015 05:22:46 pm

Your friands look divine and I think I will bake them tomorrow. I don't have the proper pans, I will have to use my muffin pans.

Reply
Jasline (Foodie Baker) link
17/7/2015 09:43:21 pm

These almond friands look so pretty and delicious! I don't have an oval-shaped mould but it's not going to stop me from making them!

Reply
Sara | Belly Rumbles link
18/7/2015 04:59:03 am

Gorgeous friands. I have my mum's Larousse Gastronomique which is older than I am. Love reading through it :)

Reply
Anna @ shenANNAgans link
19/7/2015 04:32:47 pm

YARM! Lets make these if we ever get around to picnicing in the park again. Love me a friand, tasty and delicious. :)

Reply
Liz link
20/7/2015 01:20:39 pm

I never knew there were savory friands. I've just made the sweet---and they're delicious! Yours are baked to perfection!!

Reply
Beck link
21/7/2015 07:14:58 pm

I remember these being a big thing in the 90s (I think...) so great to hear they’re making a comeback, especially as they are naturally (almost) GF and don’t need much modification for GF folk...now to dig out my tin :)

Reply
Lizzy
27/7/2015 03:52:14 am

Thanks for the lovely comments. Currently travelling. Will respond in due course XX

Reply
Pamela link
6/3/2017 03:30:04 am


Whilst I have a very sweet tooth and can't wait to make raspberry friands I fancy the idea of savoury ones too!
Can this be done using the almond meal?
Pamela

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