Delicious Raspberry Friands with step-by-step photos, including notes for making Mini Raspberry Friands.
Friand Recipe
If you are someone who, like me, makes a lot of custard, pastry or shortbread, you might find yourself with a lot of leftover egg whites.
I follow Nigella Lawson’s tip to freeze egg whites in small zip-lock freezer bags – usually in pairs – which means that I always have egg whites on hand to make pavlovas, meringues, and friands.
What are Friands?
Friands are small almond-based cakes which use egg whites as the raising agent.
In France, they are known as financiers. But the story goes that a French chef working in Australia reinvented the humble financier by baking them in an aspic mould to produce what is now popular in many Australian cafés and bakeries.
What is a Friand Pan?
A traditional French aspic mould is oval in shape with an embossed star pattern at the bottom.
In Australia, these aspic moulds are sold in a tray with 6 to 12 holes, much like a muffin pan. They are hard to find outside of Australia, but you might find some stockists on Amazon.
Individual aspic moulds are sold in France and I recommend buying the non-stick variety for baking. You can find them with or without the embossed star pattern. I bought my individual aspic moulds from E. Dehillerin but you might also find them in other specialty kitchenware stores in France or online.
I also own a large collection of vintage aspic moulds which I collect whenever I get a chance to visit the flea markets in France. They also work well for baking, but you need to be extra careful about greasing the pans. I use a non-stick baking spray, plus a light dusting of flour, to make sure that the cakes slip out easily.
Mini Raspberry Friands
One of my friends recently alerted me to the existence on mini friand pans and I knew right away that I had to have one!
My children absolutely adore eating friands and I knew that I had to get the mini friand pan for them. Or that is my excuse anyway 😉
My mini friand pan has 20 holes and you would need to halve the recipe below to make just enough batter to fill them.
In hindsight, I should have bought two mini friand pans because they disappear very quickly!
If you don’t have a mini friand pan, you could also use a mini muffin tin.
How to Make Friands
Friands might sound fancy, but they are a doddle to make. In fact, this is a recipe which I let my children “help” me make because it is kid-proof and fool-proof.
If you are using leftover frozen egg whites, make sure you defrost them first and let them come to room temperature before using in this recipe. It is best to defrost frozen egg whites overnight in the fridge, but I usually defrost them in a bowl of warm water.
The egg whites should be whisked until they are white and frothy, and you can easily achieve this with a hand-held whisk. However, I am a lazy baker and do everything with my KitchenAid; I use one bowl to whisk the egg whites and another for the rest of the ingredients.
You can use fresh or frozen raspberries in this recipe, or any berries for that matter. Sliced plums also work great in this recipe.
Once you start making friands, you will find that they are incredibly easy to make and that the variations are endless.
More French Recipes
If you are looking for more French recipes, you might also like:
Raspberry Friands
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: Makes 12 cakes
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Australian
A delicious and easy recipe for Raspberry Friands with step-by-step photos, including notes for making Mini Raspberry Friands.
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RateIngredients
- 160 g (1 ½ stick) unsalted butter
- 100 g (⅔ cup) plain flour (all-purpose flour) or gluten-free flour
- 250 g (1 ⅔ cup) icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 125 g (1 cup) ground almonds
- 6 eggwhites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- small punnet of raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F) (without fan).
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan until it turns a pale golden colour, but be careful not to let it burn.
- Use some of the butter to lightly grease the friand moulds.
- Let the butter cool slightly to use later in the recipe.
- Sift the flour and icing sugar into a large bowl and stir through the ground almonds.
- Place the eggwhites into another large bowl and whisk until they are white and frothy.
- Gently mix the frothy eggwhites into the flour mixture.
- Add the melted butter and vanilla extract, and stir everything together.
- Fill the friand tin until each mould is ⅔ full. Using an ice-cream scoop will help you to divide the batter evenly and to make even-sized friands.
- Place 2 to 3 raspberries into each mould.
- Bake the friands in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until they are lightly golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the friands cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve the friands warm or cold with a dusting of icing sugar.
Kitchen Notes
VARIATIONS
* You can use fresh or frozen raspberries in this recipe.
* Add the zest of 1 lemon to the batter.
* Substitute the raspberries for blueberries.
* Lemon Drizzle Friands
* Rhubarb and Vanilla Friands
USING EGG WHITES
If you are using leftover frozen egg whites, make sure they are fully defrosted and at room temperature before you start with this recipe.
FRIAND PAN VS MUFFIN PAN
The friand moulds are about 125 ml (½ cup) in capacity and are deeper than the standard muffin mould. So if you are using a muffin tin to make these friands, you may need to adjust the cooking time a little.
MINI FRIANDS
If you have a 20-hole mini friand pan, simply halve this recipe or use two mini friand pans. Use a 1 tablespoon measure to fill the moulds and bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden.
MAKE IT GLUTEN-FREE
To make this recipe gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour mix. I found that this changed the texture of the cakes only slightly.
OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Per cake
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 21.2g
- Sodium: 31.9mg
- Fat: 16.4g
- Carbohydrates: 29.7g
- Fiber: 1.4g
- Protein: 5.1g
- Cholesterol: 28.7mg
#eatlittlebird
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Your post for Raspberry Friands with step-by-step photos has made my life so much easier with specific and clear direction as to how to accomplish and make these like a champ—you rock!
★★★★★
Thanks, Heidy! Hope you’ll get a chance to try this recipe soon!
I’ve never heard of these but they look and sounds delicious!
★★★★★
Friands are popular mostly in Australia. But they are truly delicious and hope you’ll get a chance to try one soon!
I never realized how simple (i.e. few ingredients) it is to make these. I love that you add something tart to offset the richness of the butter.
Indeed, it is a recipe with very few and simple ingredients. And I love that you can add different fruits to make it different each time 🙂
Oops, sorry the rating didn’t go through definitely 5 stars!
★★★★★
I have never heard of these, but I definitely plan on making them. Now, to see if I can find a pan!
★★★★★
You won’t regret making these! If you can’t find a special friand pan, a muffin pan would work too 🙂
These sound simply amazing. I’ve never heard of them but with raspberries in them I know they will be delish!
Thank you! Hope you will get a chance to try friands soon!
These friands are truly delicious. Since our visit to Australia I have so missed eating a friand, with my morning coffee, at Bondi Junction. I am delighted to have discovered this recipe.
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! I miss Bondi Junction … my parents owned a bakery there when I was a small child. So many memories 🙂
Excellent Raspberry and Blueberry Friands. Taste as good as the ones we used to eat, with our morning coffee, at Bondi Junction, Australia. This recipe cannot be faulted!
★★★★★
Thanks, Diana! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. And your reference to Bondi Junction makes me feel nostalgic – my parents owned a bakery there when I was a young child and that’s where I grew up 🙂 Lovely memories!
Fabulous recipe. I made these yesterday and they came out amazing.
★★★★★
Hi Jennie,
Thanks for popping by! So glad you enjoyed this friand recipe.
I made these today , it should have made a double batch , I didn’t get to taste any they were gone before I could get one ?
★★★★
Hi Corrine,
A double batch is always a good idea!! 🙂
Delicious! Made it as is! So good! Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Stephanie,
You’re welcome! So happy that you enjoyed this recipe.
Excellent recipe. Easy to follow and super yummy. Thank you.
★★★★★
Hi Varonica,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! It’s one of my favourites 🙂
these r delish. a friend at work made these for our ?valentine’s party in the shape of hearts. they were so cute and i couldn’t get enough of them. she told me about your site. i think i will make them into shamrocks? and tint the dough a little green, for st paddys day. yummy!! Marie from??
Hi Marie,
So glad you enjoyed these friands! They would be so cute as shamrocks. You could also use matcha to make them green 🙂
I love this recipe 🙂 for gf friends I do 3/4 brown rice flour and 1/4 besan flour, because it’s what I have. And because I feed the friands to my toddler, I’ve cut the sugar down to 100g and they’re perfect 🙂
This recipe is perfect thank you. I used to have the best Friand recipe. Every event friends begged me to bring some. Then I lost the recipe. After years of not being able to match it, this is the closest recipe. Thank you!
★★★★★
Came out fine, just like in the photo and tasted fantastic!Thanks
Will make again.
Hi Darshi,
That’s great to hear! Thanks for trying this recipe 🙂
I have been completely intrigued by the idea of these adorable little cakes. I had never heard of them let alone tasted them before. And so I tried them. I’m not sure what the texture supposed to be like. They tasted wonderful but they’re little more dense than I expected. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be dense or the supposed to be Aerie almost like angel food but a little more dense. Please advise I’d love to get them right.
Hi Paula,
Friands should be a little dense in texture from the ground almonds, but they are not dense in a bad way. They are not light and airy like angel food cake. Typically in cake recipes using ground almonds, the cakes will be a little dense and heavier than normal cakes using just flour. Hope this helps!
Love this recipe. Use it quite often. Always mean to try the lemon and blueberry ones but always seem to fall back to this recipe
Hi Bobbie,
Thanks for your message! When you find a favourite recipe, it’s hard to try something new 😉 I love these raspberry friands, whereas my husband loves the lemon ones and the kids love the blueberry ones! Something for everyone 🙂
O.M.G! These are SO good. Over the Christmas break I have been making these for all the friends and family and everyone loves them. This recipe is destined to become a family favourite here. Thanks so much from Wellington, NZ
★★★★★
Hi Kimberley,
Thanks so much for your lovely message! So glad your friends and family love these friands. It’s a family favourite here too! 🙂
Hi
how do I make my friands have that special look – crusty around the outside, flattish on top – rather the the rounded muffin top.
Hi Sue,
I think friands should actually have a rounded muffin top 😊 But I find that, if I add toppings to the friands, like raspberries or another fruit, the friands generally have a flat top. It seems that the fruit toppings weigh down the batter a bit, so that the cakes do not rise as much.
But if you want a flat top, I suggest that you cool the friands with the tops facing down on the wire rack.
The nice crust around the edges is achieved when the sugar in the batter caramelises upon baking. I find that a metal pan (both non-stick and uncoated) is always best for baking and for achieving a nice crust around the cake. I rarely have good results with silicon moulds.
I hope this helps!
My daughter and I have chosen to make friands for her French class (cooking assignment and friands were an option) but we live at 5500ft elevation. How do you suggest we adjust your recipe considering there isn’t any baking powder which we would normally adjust along with flour, liquid, temperature, etc. Thank you!
Hi Kelly,
I’m sorry but I don’t have any experience of cooking at high elevations. I suspect that, because there are no leveling agents here, you should be able to make the recipe as is. Please let me know how it goes!
Hi . I used raspberries and lemon rind. Flavour gorgeous. However the consistency was too squidgy. I have an authentic metal friand tin but the cakes all stuck to the bottom in spite of generous greasing. I’m not sure how to stop batter sticking . Any IDEAS? I love the site and photography too. I really would like to persevere and get it right. Many thanks . Kate
★★★★★
Can you freeze these little beauty’s
First time. Thank you. An absolutely beautiful result. Haven’t baked in 20+years.
Hi Tiaria,
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I have just found this recipe and made these Friands using GF flour. I have tried several times to make Friands with little success, I had all but given up. These are amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing, I will be trying a lot more of your yummy recipes.
Hi Sue,
That’s great to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! I make these friands regularly, and also with GF flour, and there is minimal difference in taste and texture. Hope you will enjoy more recipes on this site 🙂
I am in my late 60’s and decided to bake. Thank you. I have made these 7-8 times and only had one failure. Over cooked. Love and Blessings.😘😘
★★★★★
Hi Tiaria,
It’s never late to pop on an apron 😉 I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Made this and they smelled so good straight out of the oven …I couldn’t stop eating them! Nearly 4in succession can anyone beat this record?ty if I’d had more eggs it should of been a double batch
Silicon muffin tray is all I have but works better than metal non stick friand tins I’ve found they stick no matter what I do
★★★★
Hi Melissa,
That’s great to hear! So glad you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Beautiful recipe
★★★★★
These friands are absolutely delicious! I’ve used this recipe a few times and they always turn out beautifully.
★★★★★
Delicious recipe! Makes friands more delicious than the ones in the cafés.
★★★★★
Easy recipe to follow and delicious cakes!
★★★★★
Do they freeze please
Hi Maree,
I have not tried freezing friands, but I imagine that they would freeze well like most cakes. Wrap them well in plastic wrap for freezing, and defrost them overnight in the fridge before serving. I hope this helps!
Can I reduce the sugar content or substitute with honey or something else? Please advise?
Hi Magda,
Yes, you can definitely reduce the sugar in this recipe. I made it once with half the sugar and it still tasted great, definitely less sweet than the normal recipe. I think you can experiment with the quantity of sugar, whether you reduce by 1/4 or even 1/2. Hope this helps 🙂
Gorgeous, light friands. I add a pinch of salt, a little lemon zest and some almond essence, but sure it’d be fine without these too. Very easy to make and both flour and gluten free recipes work very well. I got lots of compliments on these!
★★★★★
An absolute hit with all the freinds and family.Im getting orders left right and centre.Thats birthday presents sorted 👌
★★★★★
Hi Margaret,
That’s great to hear! Edible birthday presents are the best!
I love these SO much. I split the eggs and make a carbonara for dinner and the friands the next day for treats. Thank you!
Hi Christine,
Oh my goodness, that is a fantastic idea!! Carbonara followed by friands – sounds perfect!
Hi lovely I’m wanting t9 try your friands I have made some on the past but wanting t9 try gluten free now.Just a question I’m overloaded with egg yolks since i bake a lot could I use pasteurised eggwhites in the carton ?
Hi Angela,
I’ve never tried this recipe with pasteurised eggwhites from a carton, so I’m afraid I can’t help. My guess is that the recipe should still work but maybe there will be some variation in taste or texture of the cakes? I’m not sure. If you do try it, please let me know 🙂
I have made these friands several times and they are always a hit.
★★★★★