Friands are tea cakes that are well loved in Australia and New Zealand. Their unique oval shape makes them charming and slightly more elegant than your standard muffin. I am always on the lookout for handheld or individual sized desserts that have a little extra “something” about them. They photograph well because they are eye-catching!
Some say that friands are inspired by French financiers, or small almond pastries made with egg whites and browned butter. These raspberry friands are also made with egg whites, which help give these cakes a lighter texture.
I own the friand pan shown below, which is notably heavier than any of my other muffin pans. Although I grease or spray my pans, these cakes pop out of the molds with little to no effort.
A light dusting of confectioners’ sugar always adds a little “oomph” to the raspberry friands. I will surely find new versions of these tea cakes to share here. Enjoy!
Want a little more tart fruit and sweet bites in your world? You may also enjoy cranberry orange bread with orange sugar glaze or cranberry and white chocolate chip cookies.
PrintRaspberry Friands (Tea Cakes)
Friands are tea cakes that are well loved in Australia and New Zealand. You can use a friand pan or substitute a muffin pan. This recipe will make 8-10 friands or muffins.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 friands 1x
- Category: Breads and muffins
- Method: bake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners (also known as powdered or icing) sugar + additional small amount for dusting after baking
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup almond flour (also known as almond meal) or ground almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 5 egg whites
- 10 tablespoons (5/8 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup frozen raspberries (do not thaw)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray your friand or muffin pan with butter or non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, add the confectioners’ sugar, all purpose flour, almond flour, and baking powder and mix until combined.
If needed, separate egg whites from yolks into a bowl. Whisk egg whites until white and frothy. Add cooled butter and vanilla extract to egg white mixture and stir to combine.
Add egg white and butter mixture to dry flour mixture and stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
Spoon batter into friand or muffin pan until 2/3 full. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and add several raspberries to each friand or muffin. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool friands in the pan for a few minutes before removing them to cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if you please!
Keywords: friand tea cake
Note: Below is a photo that shows what happens to raspberry friands when you use too much butter and do not whisk your egg whites. The bottom cake was an awful attempt (by me) at this sweet recipe. The top cake resulted from me taking the time to follow the directions properly 🙂
