I love these little dense and moist cakes - which are derived from the French 'Financier'. In the summer I like to make ice-cream, and other desserts like fruit curd or custard - so I often have egg whites left over that I need to use up. I also have a lot of summer fruits at the moment from my CSA, but these cakes could be made with all kinds of toppings. I also like the quick and easy method to make these little cakes.
Financiers are traditionally baked in small rectangular pans, similar in shape to a gold bar (perhaps how they go their name), but Friands are generally baked in oval shaped pans - but you could also use muffin pans. I like to use the pans without paper liners, because I find the cakes brown up more, and get a nice golden crust. Typically there is a small amount of flour used in the cakes, but I've substituted Brown Rice Flour to make these Gluten Free. Of course, you could use All Purpose Flour if you like.
Another variation is to substitute the lemon juice and zest for spices (I used 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg), and then substitute the blueberries for plum wedges to make Plum spice friands.
I adapted this recipe from some of my favorites from the Australian Women's Weekly Cafe Cakes. —aussiefoodie
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