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Raspberry Friands

Makes 24 mini cakes

55 minutes 25 minutes active, plus cooling

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A relative of French financiers, Australian friands are miniature cakes. Like financiers, they feature nutty almond flour and get their light, chewy texture from egg whites. What sets friands apart is the addition of fresh fruit, and instead of a bar shape, they’re baked in small ovals or rounds. We opted for an easy-to-find mini muffin pan. Browned butter elevates the flavor, adding richness and complexity that complement the nuttiness of the almond flour. We love the bright, floral combination of raspberries and orange zest, but blueberries and lemon zest are a fantastic combination, too. (Simply substitute lemon zest for the orange zest and drop 2 or 3 blueberries in the batter in each cup before baking.) These cakes are best the day of baking, when the crispness of the exteriors contrasts with the chewiness of the crumb, but extras can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for a couple days.

Makes 24

mini cakes

Tip

Don’t skip sifting the dry ingredients. Almond flour and powdered sugar both tend to clump, so sifting is essential for a smooth batter and light, even texture in the baked cakes.

55 minutes

25 minutes active, plus cooling

Ingredients

  • 113

    grams (8 tablespoons) salted butter

  • 2

    teaspoons grated orange zest

Directions

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Reviews
Janice M.
February 17, 2024
Worth the effort!
I made these just yesterday, and they are so very good and a bit unusual. I have two 'cautions': 1) I whisked my eggs whites by hand, which I have never done before, and managed to whisk them a bit too far, as my batter cooked over the tops of the raspberries and also spilled over the muffin cavity rims. 2) I did push down on the berries, but may have been too overzealous on that, as some of the berries stuck to the bottoms of the cavities. Yet not picture perfect, they were a very tasty, and I will make them again, using less muscle in my whisking and berry pushing...
Diana L.
March 25, 2024
Cute but Just Okay
Sifting the almond flour was a slow process (it didn’t pass through the sifter easily). Additionally, I ended up with six egg yolks (unsure what to use them for). The final outcome consisted mostly of tiny tarts, which I found cute. However, I’m hesitant about making them again—they were merely okay, lacking anything particularly remarkable. Overall, aside from the sifting, assembly was swift.