Super Easy Almond Friand

By
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Updated on 06/22/22
Easy Friand Recipe

RFB Photography

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 25 mins
Servings: 18 servings

Friands are delightful little cakes based on the French financiers but are a little lighter and are so quick and super easy to make. The basic friand has an almond base, and what makes these stand apart is the wealth of variations, only limited by your imagination.

Always keep to the basic recipe and then make adjustments accordingly—see variation suggestions below. Make a traditional friand in a miniature loaf tin, but if you don’t have these, you can use any small tin. Silicone molds work well or use a mini muffin tin. The cake should just be a couple of bites, no bigger; they are quite delicate.

Serve friands as part of an ​afternoon tea or simply with a cup ​of tea. They make a great after-dinner petit fours and are perfect for parties, picnics, and the lunchbox.

Ingredients

  • 3 ounces all-purpose flour

  • 3 ounces superfine sugar

  • 3 ounces almonds, ground

  • 4 large egg whites

  • 4 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus a little extra for greasing

  • Icing sugar, for dusting, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift flour into a large bowl.

  3. Add sugar and ground almonds and stir well.

  4. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until foamy and light—but not firm peaks (you are not making meringues).

  5. Add egg whites to dry ingredients, add butter, and gently stir everything together until you have thick batter.

  6. Place 6 small, lightly greased loaf tins (they should hold about half a cup of liquid) onto a baking sheet. Using a dessert spoon, fill 3/4 of each tin with batter. Clean up any spillages or batter on the cake tin rim or sides.

  7. Cook in center of oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until risen and golden brown; when center is pierced with a toothpick, it should come out clean.

  8. Leave cakes in tins for 5 minutes, then remove and leave to cool on a wire cooling rack.

  9. Once cooled, dust with icing sugar, if using.

Recipe Variations

  • Coconut and Mango: Replace half the ground almonds with desiccated coconut and proceed with the recipe until filling the cake tins. Once the batter is in the tins, push small cubes of fresh, ripe mango into the batter and bake as usual.
  • Lemon Friand: Add the zest of 1 unwaxed lemon to the dry ingredients and proceed with the recipe.
  • Blueberry Friand: Once the cake batter is in the tin, push two or three blueberries into the cake batter and bake as usual. Only use fresh blueberries for this recipe. Any other summer fruit can also be used—raspberries, strawberry pieces, ripe pear pieces, etc.

How to Store and Freeze

  • Friands are best eaten on the day they are made. But they will keep for a couple of days in an airtight tin and will benefit from slightly warming in the oven before eating.
  • You can freeze friands. Let them cool, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil. Place in the freezer for up to two weeks. When ready to eat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat.


Nutrition Facts (per serving)
113 Calories
8g Fat
9g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 18
Amount per serving
Calories 113
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 10%
Saturated Fat 3g 17%
Cholesterol 14mg 5%
Sodium 37mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 9g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 15mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 52mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)