A friand is a French term for a bite-sized almond cake typically made in an oval shape, but suitable for a muffin pan too. They are a great way of using up leftover egg whites and other than almonds, you can also use hazelnut or pistachio meal.
This recipe uses a mix of confectioners' sugar and powdered agave (I ordered mine from Amazon), a natural sweetener made from dried organic agave syrup. Its consistency is very similar to confectioners' sugar, but much sweeter and contains 25% less calories than sugar. If you plan to use only confectioners' sugar, increase the amount of sugar to 100 grams.
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- Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Grease eight non-stick standard-size muffin or friand holes. Melt the butter and set aside to cool.
- Sift the powdered agave, confectioners' sugar and flour into a bowl. Stir in ground hazelnut. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until just frothy. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Gradually add egg whites, stirring with a spoon until combined. Stir in melted butter to form a soft batter.
- Divide the batter among the muffin holes and sprinkle a few of blueberries over each cake. Bake for 15-20 minutes until just firm to the touch and golden brown.
- Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack. To serve, dust lightly with icing sugar.
82 comments:
Beautiful bakes!
I love blueberries and I love these little cakes, they look delicious.
love using almond meal for cakes, the nutty taste they give the cake!! these look delicious.
These friands look beyond delicious, I love blueberry with any nut at all really :D
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Love friands, no matter what nuts or berries are inside.
looks so delicious and tempting!
Wonderful! I bet they taste fantastic.
Cheers,
Rosa
Love the bite size. I would definitely go with hazelnuts. They are my favorite among all nuts.
Every time I come here I learn something new. This time it's "friand" and powdered agave. I really need to get some of that! What a delightful little treat. With egg whites and so little flour, I'm sure these are light and delicious! A great use of blueberries as well. Very lovely Angie!
Mouth-watering looking friands which are just perfect for afternoon tea.
Lovely tea time treats.
have a wonderful weekend Angie.
:-) Mandy xo
These must be very aromatic. I like the blueberry flavour.
I sent a batch of calamondin and cherry friands to work with my husband this week - they were very welcome! Friands are hugely popular in Australia, and I can't work out why they haven't spread everywhere! I like the idea of using hazelnut instead.
Blueberries and hazelnut.. sounds very delicious :)
I wish I had these for breakfast! Angie these friands look amazing! I have never come across powdered agave before - thanks for letting me know - definitely a great idea to cut the sugar content by subbing some of the confectioners sugar with powdered agave.
These are really delicious.. mmh, I want one of them now! You're fantastic, as always :P
Ooh lovely! I can smell the goodness just by looking at your photos :)
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
How lovely and the blueberries add a nice touch too. I'll check out the agave powdered sugar. My BIL I know would like it. Hope you have a great weekend Angie.
Sam
These look so yummy, I wish I could have some for breakfast this morning! I have to try the powdered agave.
How cute! These remind me of financiers also. Funny how the French invent all the best pastries :) I am a sucker for the classic almond flavor but would love to try this with pistachio. Great post Angie!
I love friandes Angie. Blueberry so delicious
These look like even I could make them, putting this on my -tomake- list. Beautiful pictures Angie, every single one is a corker!
You should come bake for me :)
Wow! Another nice sweet treat! More please , Angie :)
These sound like a great breakfast treat..especially in the summer months when blueberries are so plentiful. Great recipe :)
Blueberry wins my heart always, this looks delicious!
Mi piacciono moltissimo i mirtilli, così ricchi di antiossidanti ! ottima ricetta;))
Bacio e buon w.e
I absolutely love friands! Beautiful and love the combo of the blueberries and hazelnuts. :) Have a lovely weekend, Angie!!
Your blueberry friands look wonderful! I bought some blueberries recently and planning to can blueberry jam. I need to make time since it's been so busy. As always, your baking makes me hungry!
Those friands are too attractive, wish i could munch some.
I love these. Thanks for the info on agave sugar.
Wonderful job. They look delicious. I need to get some powdered agave.
I love hazelnuts and this is very much like a financier, which is pretty much my favorite way of using egg whites. Your friands with the blueberries look irresistible.
What gorgeous little cakes. I've never made a friand before but now I'm eager to try!
Look really beauty and deicuous Angie:)
Damn ,
the photograph is trully seducing me Angie!!!
Angie , those are very tempting bakes ! Blueberry and hazelnut combo is a sure winner :D
They look so tasty and pretty.
Friands are so tasty...and I love the addition of blueberries and hazelnuts!
Angie, I am hungry now, can have 1? :D
I learn something every time I visit, Angie! I've been on a blueberry kick this week, so I'm excited to try these. Have a great weekend :)
Oh I do love blueberries.
Wonderfully prepared! Love it
Perfectly done and looks tempting!
These friands look beyond amazing Angie!!! I love blueberry baked goods and it sounds amazing with the ground hazelnuts!
i've never baked with ground hazelnut but i'm sure i'd love its flavor! these are lovely!
Wow super temptig cookies
At first glance, I thought it said "friends" and I thought how charming...but I'll deeefinitely take these, too!!
I first heard about friands from (I think) one of Dorie Greenspan's books. Yours look lovely! Hope you're having a great weekend.
What a wonderful way to use blueberries these look really good. I love your variation on the classic friands.
Hazelnut is one thing I've yet to experiment baking with. I think I'll start with these! OXXO
Blueberry and hazelnuts are definitely a favourite combo of mine. Love it that you used spelt flour for a healthier bake.
I just love your flavor combos Angie. Blueberries and hazelnuts are heavenly together!
Amazing bake Angie, Love them :D
Your blueberry and ground nut little cakes sound light and good.
These are delicious looking cakes and we appreciate blueberries in baked goods. You spoil us with such delightful recipes.
Hi Angie,
Lovely friands! Blueberry and hazelnut sounds wonderful!
Hi Angie,
I love blueberry and hazelnut combo too.
Your friands look so good! Yum!
mui
I will make these tasty beauties but with fresh blackberries from my own garden! Yummm!
These little cakes sound so lovely! Hazelnut paired with juicy bursts of blueberries is just divine.
Dear Angie, These would be perfect with a good cup of coffee. Blessings dear. Catherine xo
I love friands (we call them 'financiers' here)...and hazelnut and blueberry? Such a great combination. These look delicious.
I love that juicy pop of blueberries when you take a bite out of a muffin - they must work amazingly in these friands
Never knew about powdered agave, learnt something new, thanks.
You have such a knack for making everything as healthy as possible, Angie, and these are no exception. How beautiful and delicious they look!
I've never heard of friands but I'm happy to meet them. Especially with blueberries!
I've never heard of a friand, but it sounds like I'd love them. These sound so good, especially since I love all things blueberry! Yum!
I have just learned something new from you Angie: what a friend is! They are adorable! Love them, especially with the blueberries!
Roz
i can see that each bite of these friands will give a burstful of flavours! very tempting indeed!
These are so pretty Angie! I want to devour them! Blueberry and hazelnut make a great pair.
They look so cute and healthy, I love blueberry in desserts :)
gorgeous cakes.
lush drink :) xx
Ooh they look so good Angie. Hazelnuts seem to work very nicely with blueberries, as does lemon of course. I've made lots of different friends, but never with hazelnuts or pistachios - now I want to try both.
I am so all over a mini almond cake! I love all the blueberry love! Yum, Hugs, Terra
I love both of them blueberry and hazelnuts... It looks so yummy...
Nice Blog, Good Recipe...
Keep Updating Please
lovely! they origins may be French (although I don't recognize the word) but I think they are especially popular in new zealand and australia at the moment. I love how the blueberry literally melts into the spelt base. Looks gorgeous.
Wish I live nearer ! I am soooo hungry now.
Kristy
Ooh yummity yum, these look gorgeous. I haven't made friends for ages but now I've got a couple of egg whites in the fridge I think I can feel some coming on AND I'd like to try them with hazelnuts.
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