Choc chip friands are one of the best things to bake with leftover egg whites. These little gluten-free cakes are easy to make and so delicious, with an excellent and varied taste experience. Brown butter gives added depth to the almonds bringing out their nutty flavour as well as adding a slight richness to the whole. And the mellow sweetness of the friand combines well with the dark bitter chocolate.
What Are Friands?
Friands are very similar to financiers. In fact, they’re the antipodean version of the French financier. Ground almonds and egg whites are the main ingredients and they’re sort of half way between a macaroon and a cake in both texture and flavour. They’re gloriously crisp on the outside and soft and delectable on the inside.
Financiers are traditionally baked as a rectangular shape and are made with brown butter or beurre noisette as it is known in France. Friands, on the other hand, are baked in oval moulds without brown butter.
I became a fan as soon as I was first introduced to friands, not so very long ago. As soon as Laura of How to Cook Good Food announced this month’s ingredient for We Should Cocoa was to be almonds, friands were the first thing that popped into my head. And that idea has not gone away. Friands it is then.
Baking for People with Coeliac Disease
It’s always useful to have a few good gluten free recipes up ones sleeve. Coeliac disease is something we are becoming increasingly aware of. However, although CT has a friend who suffers from it, I had no idea it was quite as prevalent as it is, with one in a hundred people affected by it in the UK.
It’s an autoimmune condition which affects the lining of the small intestine and it’s triggered by the consumption of gluten. Gluten is found in a number of grains, but specifically wheat, rye and barley. Katie of Apple & Spice, who was diagnosed with the disease about a year ago, is running a coeliac awareness raising challenge to coincide with National Coeliac Awareness Week (14th-20th May).
Some bakes are particularly easy to turn into gluten-free ones and these gorgeous little burnt butter choc chip friands are one of them. Friands don’t have much flour anyway. They rely mostly on ground almonds, so it’s a simple process of switching wheat flour to a gluten-free one.
Burnt Butter Choc Chip Friands
Co-incidentally, minutes before I was about to bake this batch of friands, I read a post for brown butter chocolate chunk cookies over at The Little Loaf. As well as using buerre noisette in her cookies she had also used buckwheat flour to make them gluten free.
Well what a brilliant idea. I thought I’d try baking some friands with the traditional financier brown butter to see what difference it made. I was going to use gluten-free flour anyway, but buckwheat flour suddenly became the perfect choice.
Making brown butter adds an extra step to an otherwise super simple bake, but it’s worth it. The aroma of the nut like butter as it cooks and turns brown is delicious. It fills the whole house with its fragrance.
Once you’ve browned the butter, pretty much all you need to do is stir everything together. Spoon the batter into moulds and then bake. Job done.
My little almond bakes are neither rectangular nor oval. I use round moulds, because that’s all I have. Sometimes you just have to be pragmatic.
For the batch you can see in these photos, I made twelve mini friands and six larger ones. I’d baked the mini ones for friends, but CT and I tucked into the larger ones with gusto. The friands were as good as I remembered these cinnamon choc chip ones to be, if not better. The buckwheat flour worked really well, although we couldn’t detect any specific flavour.
The brown butter gives an added depth to the almonds and brings out their nutty flavour as well as adding a slight richness to the whole cake. The mellow sweetness of the friand combines well with the dark bitter chocolate and it all makes for an excellent and varied taste experience.
What To Make With Leftover Egg Yolks
This recipe leaves three leftover egg yolks. However, I always see this as a good opportunity to make something else. That something else is usually some sort of custard. But there are other delicious options.
Here are all the recipes on Tin and Thyme that use only egg yolks.
Other Friand Recipes You Might Like
- Chilli chocolate chip friands
- Cinnamon choc chip friands
- Raspberry rose friands
- Raspberry and white chocolate friands
- Rhubarb friands with white chocolate
- Vegan friands
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you try this easy mushroom tart, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. And do please rate the recipe. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like more gluten-free recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Choc Chip Friands. PIN IT.
Brown Butter Choc Chip Friands – The Recipe
Brown Butter Choc Chip Friands
Ingredients
- 90 g unsalted butter
- 3 large eggs whites only (I used duck eggs)
- 120 g icing sugar
- 45 g buckwheat flour
- 60 g ground almonds
- 50 g dark chocolate roughly chopped (I used 85%)
- 10 g flaked almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Melt the butter over a low heat and leave to bubble gently for five to ten minutes. Check it every now and again. It's ready when the solids have sunk to the bottom and turned a light brown. Take off the heat immediately as you don't want the butter to burn. Leave to cool a little.90 g unsalted butter
- Whisk the eggs whites until frothy. They don’t need to be stiff.3 large eggs
- Stir in the cooled butter.
- Sift in the icing sugar and buckwheat flour and stir into the egg and butter mixture together with the ground almonds.120 g icing sugar, 45 g buckwheat flour, 60 g ground almonds
- Stir in the chocolate chips as lightly as possible.50 g dark chocolate
- Spoon the mixture into 9 muffin cases or 18 mini ones. I use silicone cases rather than a muffin tray and place them on a baking tray prior to transfering to the oven.
- Sprinkle the tops with slivered almonds, if using.10 g flaked almonds
- Bake at 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) for 15 minutes for mini friands and 20 minutes for larger ones.
- Place on a rack to cool a bit, then turn out of the cases to cool completely.
- Dust with icing sugar, if liked.
Maya Russell says
These look good – the colours are nice.
JaynesDen says
I have never heard of friands before. These look delicious.
sniffandsnort says
You have inspired me for another blogging challenge! I love brown butter and I love friands and these look so delectable!
Johanna GGG says
these sound wonderful – I have eaten friands when our and always loved them – but never made them – but I did made your chocolate polenta cake again and found it very fudgy (albeit still a bit grainy) so I have faith in your almond baked goods – and thanks for the reminder of the WSC
Kate@whatkatebaked says
You are absolutely right Choclette- its always really useful to have a few tasty, scrummy gluten free recipes to hand. I’ve never made friands before (and with your descriptions in mind I’ve no idea why not)- so this page is currently being bookmarked! Thank you!!
Choclette says
Oh Kate, you are missing a treat – although that’s what everyone tells me about Madeleine’s!
Unknown says
Oh my gosh these sound easy and yummy!
Choclette says
Thank you. it’s always good to have a few (or maybe a lot of) easy recipes in one’s repertoire 🙂
celia says
Jinx! I just posted a browned butter recipe today as well! We adore friands, but I’ve tried making them with browned butter. And glad to know they work so well gluten-free, thanks! xx
Choclette says
Ooh, I’m coming over to see what brown butter goodies you’ve been baking Celia – something delicious I know. Not really sure why I don’t use it more often. Have you posted about friands on our blog?
celia says
Yes, a couple of times – we make a tinned peach version recently, but we usually make raspberry and chocolate ones! Pete loves them! 🙂
Hannah says
They look gorgeous, seriously in love with anything with browned butter! I’ve emailed this page link to a friend who is coeliac, I’m sure she will love them!
Choclette says
Thanks Hannah, I hope she likes them, it can’t be fun not being able to eat what everyone else is eating.
Ruth says
Ooh! Just utter the words brown butter and I am sold! These look fantastic! I can hardly believe they are gluten free – and the explanation of friands vs. financiers is something I’ve always wondered about.
Choclette says
Thanks Ruth, not really sure why I don’t use brown butter more often. Too many things to think about, that’s my excuse anyway!
Sarah, Maison Cupcake says
These look great and thanks for the explanation about the difference between friands and financiers as I knew they were similar but hadn’t realised friands were Australian. I’ve not got around to making either as I didn’t have the right moulds but seeing how great yours have come out in silicon muffin moulds I see that doesn’t matter!
Choclette says
Glad I’ve cleared up the mystery for someone other than myself Sarah – it can all get very confusing sometimes! Yes, don’t worry about the moulds, these work really well in muffin tins, just don’t fill them up too much.
cakeboule says
I recently wrote about coeliac disease and gluten free baking too. Great minds think alike! I did not know there was an awareness week so that was good to find out. Not tried these before but they look good! I now mark my recipes with gluten free or try to give gluten free options as I get asked so much for GF recipes and my Mum is coeliac.
Choclette says
Sorry to hear about your mother, that can’t be much fun for her. But hopefully things are improving all the time as people get more used to gluten free baking.
Phil in the Kitchen says
I love friands (and I actually went out and bought a friand tin just to prove it). Yours sound really good and who cares about the shape? I know that there’s no real difference between financiers and friands except accent and shape; although I prefer friands because they tend to be bigger and I’m greedy. Oh, and financiers make me think of bankers and that’s no fun at all.
Choclette says
No, you’re quite right Phil, I don’t want to be reminded of bankers 🙁 Looking forward to seeing your fancy new friands now – how long will I have to wait?
thelittleloaf says
Yum! Here’s to brown butter in baking – these look absolutely delicious 🙂
Choclette says
Thank you, I really must try using it more often. Thanks for putting the idea of buckwheat into my head – it worked really well in these friands.
Minnie Kitchen says
You make some delicious looking foods! Yum!!!
Choclette says
Thank you Minnie
Mary says
These really do sound wonderful. This is my first visit to your blog, so I took sometime to browse through your earlier posts. I’m so glad I did that. I really like the food and recipes you share with your readers and I’ll definitely be back. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Choclette says
Thank you Mary
Katie says
Wow these look divine! Thanks so much for supporting the coeliac event. Love the idea of adding the browned butter. Must try!
Choclette says
Hi Katie – it seems like a good cause to support. I keep meaning to use brown butter more often, but never remember when I’m actually baking.
Torviewtoronto says
delicious looking friands
Choclette says
Thank you – they worked really well so I think I will try the mini version again.
Sue/the view from great island says
I just tried a financier for the first time this morning, we happened to spot them at our favorite bakery, now I’m dying to try these friands. I bet they have a wonderful texture.
Choclette says
I’ve never had a financier or a friand that I haven’t made myself – obviously not yet reached the UK 😉
Baking Addict says
These look lovely! I’ve never made friands before but I bought a mould (shopaholic and bakingaddict that I am!) I’ll have to track down some buckwheat flour to make these and the cookies!
Choclette says
Think I’m going to have to come up and raid your store sometime 😉 Are your moulds oval shaped ones? Health food shops should sell buckwheat flour. You might also find it at somewhere like Waitrose.
The Caked Crusader says
I love friands – particularly the way they dome when baking. These look lovely
Choclette says
CC thank you. The domed look does make they kind of cute 😉
Susan says
Hi Choclette, such a gorgeous looking recipe! Just one question, I don’t have access to duck eggs, what amount of standard hens eggs would I replace them with? Thanks!
Choclette says
Hi Susan, thank you. I’d use large hens eggs instead of duck eggs. I often find them difficult to get hold of too – I used to get really good ones from our local Cornish shop, but they’ve recently gone out of business. Now I can get them sometimes from our local country market or greengrocer.
Susan says
Thank you!!
manu says
Beautiful and great colours!!
Have a nice Sunday
Choclette says
Thank you Manu
Green Dragonette says
I can almost smell them baking…almost!
Choclette says
Green Dragonette – ohh, they smelt so good 🙂
Susie @ Fold in the Flour says
There definitely seems to be a trend at the moment with brown butter cropping up in recipes, such as the Little Loaf’s, but I must admit, I’ve not tried it yet. These look gorgeous, and lovely and light, so I’d love to try these! 🙂
Choclette says
Thank you Susie. Years ago, I used to make Nigella’s brown butter cupcakes which were delicious, not sure why I stopped.
Lester says
I think you mean egg whites not yolks in the ingrdients. And let’s stop calling them friands, a dreadful antipodean nomenclature. They are French and therefore financiers. ;o)
Choclette says
Lester thank you for pointing out my yolk mistake – now corrected! Thanks also for coming down on the side of financiers – I’m interested in finding out more if I can.
laura@howtocookgoodfood says
I too read The Little Loaf’s post on brown butter chic chop cookies and thought how amazing they sounded, and how good an idea to use buckwheat flour in them.
Now seeing those friands I am torn between the two. Which ones do I make first? I am a massive of of Madeleines so I may be more swayed by these. The only trouble is, they sound so light and delicate that I would have to eat the whole batch in one go!
What a great entry to We Should Cocoa, thanks Choclette 🙂 xx
Choclette says
Those choc chip cookies of the Little Loaf’s are very tempting. I’ve still not got around to making Madeleines, mostly because I don’t have the right pan – I’ve never eaten one either!!!
MissCakeBaker says
Lovely! I really like friands.
Choclette says
MCB – thank you. It’s taken me a while, but now I realise I do too.
Alida says
Absolutely delicious. I love almonds and chocolate and these cakes (new to me) are just worth displaying in a patisserie shop!
Choclette says
Thank you Alida – that’s a very kind comment. Do give them a try, they are delicious.
Foodycat says
Gorgeous! Friands didn’t even cross my mind for this challenge but what a brilliant idea!
Choclette says
And you being such a fan too!
The HUngry Mum says
Nothing more to say than yuuuum.
Choclette says
That’s good enough 😉 Thanks for visiting.