My Gluten-Free Blueberry Friands will be a welcome addition to your baking recipes. This classic, almond based, French cake is the perfect accompaniment to your morning or afternoon tea. Although they have an elegant appearance, they are made from simple, everyday ingredients. With a delicious, slightly crisp exterior and moist, tender interior they have a delightful contrast of textures. The delicious flavour combination of lemon and blueberry works so well together.
Why You'll Love This Recipe:
- The friands are easily made, making them ideal for a novice or experienced cook.
- It is a great way to use leftover egg whites.
- Lemon and blueberry is a delicious, classic combination.
- If you don't have a friand tray, you can use muffin tins.
- You can leave them plain or customise the topping to suit your taste.
- They have an incredible texture, featuring a slightly crisp edge and tender centre.
Recipe Inspiration: this is a recipe that my mum has been making for many years, originally gifted to her by her friend Di. We make them in a traditional friand tin, or occasionally in a mini muffin tin when we are serving a selection of dainty sweet treats.
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
- Egg whites: they are the binding agent in this recipe.
- Caster/superfine sugar: the smaller sugar crystals dissolve more readily in the mixture.
- Vanilla extract: for the best flavour, use good quality extract.
- Almond flour: our preference is for blanched almond flour, it gives the friands a lighter texture than almond meal which is made using the whole almond.
- Gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour: I use a good quality commercial gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum to stabilise and provide structure to our recipes. Regular flour can also be used, if you don't require the recipe to be gluten-free.
- Lemon zest: adds a bright citrus note that perfectly complements the blueberries.
- Unsalted butter: we use a small amount of softened butter to grease the friand tin and melted butter to make the batter.
- Blueberries: I have used fresh blueberries. Frozen can also be used, but the friands will take a few extra minutes to cook.
- Icing/powdered sugar: we lightly dust the friands once they have cooled when serving.
Variations:
Tin: if you don't have a friand tin, you can make this recipe in a regular 12-hole muffin tin.
Blueberries: raspberries are also delicious in this recipe.
Lemon zest: orange zest is a great alternative.
How To Make Gluten-Free Friands:
Please see the recipe card further along in the post for exact quantities of ingredients and the full method.
1 - Whisk the egg whites:
Lightly whisk your room temperature egg whites in a large bowl.
2 - Add in your other ingredients:
To the egg whites, add the vanilla and sugar. Mix, and then add the dry ingredients.
3 - The mixed batter:
Stir through the melted butter until combined.
4 - Add to your tins:
Add the mixture to your greased, prepared friand tins and top with the blueberries.
Bake in your preheated oven until cooked through, and a light golden brown.
Hint: when you add the melted butter to the mixture, it may look as if it won't combine but continue to stir and eventually it will come together.
Tips for Success, Storage and FAQs:
They can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They are at their best on the day they are made but respond well to reheating. Details are below.
Yes, they freeze well. Wrap them individually in cling wrap and then store in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months.
Defrost the friands, place on an ovenproof tray or plate covered in foil and heat in a 180 degrees C (355 F) oven for about 8 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 2 or 3 minutes to crisp the edges. If you are heating from frozen, it will take a minute or 2 longer.
Friands are popular in Australia and New Zealand. The friand evolved from a small French cake known as a "financier", which is made in a rectangular shape. It is thought that a cook in Australia wanted to make the little cakes but didn't have the proper mold and improvised by using oval aspic tins. These days, appropriate friand tins are readily available. The recipes are almost identical, but traditionally, financiers use brown butter and friands don't, and financiers are generally plain, whilst friands may be flavoured with fruit or nuts.
Top Tip:
Never discard leftover egg whites. You can keep them refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If not using them within this time, they can be frozen. Place them in an airtight container labelled with the date and number of whites. The USDA advises that whites can be frozen for up to 12 months. They can be used in many recipes, such as our Gluten-Free Almond Cookies or Coconut Macaroons.
Likewise, save the egg yolks from this recipe and use in custard, our Vanilla Ice Cream or Lemon Curd.
Serving Suggestions:
You will find many ways to enjoy these elegant Gluten-free Blueberry Friands. Some suggestions are:
- For morning or afternoon tea.
- The individual cakes are perfect when entertaining or for any celebration, be it Mothers' Day, a baby shower or birthday party.
- Take them to picnics or potlucks.
I hope you will love this easily made recipe as much as we do. As these little cakes bake, their warm and alluring fragrance will fill your home, attracting all within reach. Fortunately, they don't take too long to cook!
Alex xx
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Gluten-Free Blueberry Friands
Equipment
- 1 12-hole Friand Tin See Note 1
Please note:
For accuracy, when weights are provided, we recommend weighing your ingredients. This will produce the best results. All oven temperatures listed are for fan forced.
Ingredients
- 6 large egg whites (210 g) - at room temperature
- 190 g caster/superfine sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 190 g blanched almond flour See Note 2
- 60 g gluten-free plain/all-purpose flour See Note 3
- 1 ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 190 g unsalted butter - melted and cooled
- 125 g fresh blueberries See Note 4
- icing/powdered sugar - for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (355 F).Grease a 12-hole friand tin with butter. (See Note 1)
- In a large bowl, add the egg whites, and whisk until slightly frothy.Add the vanilla and sugar to the egg whites and stir to combine.
- To the egg whites and sugar, add the almond flour, plain flour and lemon zest. Mix until just combined using a large spoon.Lastly, stir in the melted butter. The mixture will take a little while to come together but keep stirring until the butter is completely incorporated.
- Add the batter to your greased tin, I use a large ice cream scoop to assist.Tap the tin on the bench to remove any air bubbles.Top the batter with the blueberries, pressing them in gently.
- Bake in your preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean, and the friands are a light golden brown.
- Allow the friands to stand in the tin for five minutes before placing a cooling rack on top of the tin and carefully flipping the tin over with oven mits. Gently turn the friands over so the blueberries are facing up.Allow the friands to cool completely before serving with a dusting of icing/powdered sugar.
Notes
- Friand tin: you can also make the friands in a standard 12-hole muffin tin. They take a similar time to bake as the friand tin. If you prefer, they are also lovely made in a mini muffin tin. The mini muffin tin takes approximately 12 minutes of baking.
- Almond flour: my preference is almond flour, made from blanched almonds, as opposed to almond meal. It has a finer texture than almond meal, made from the whole almond.
- Gluten-free flour: I have used a quality commercial gluten-free flour blend that contains xanthan gum to stabilise and provide structure. If you prefer, you can use regular wheat flour instead.
- Blueberries: my preference is fresh berries. You can use frozen blueberries, but they add moisture to the mixture and the friands will need to be cooked a few minutes longer. Add them to the mixture while still frozen.
- Storage: once cool, keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. They are at their best on the day they are cooked, but reheat well. See details below.
- Freezing: wrap them individually in cling wrap and then store in a freezer safe container for up to two months.
- Reheating: place the friands on an ovenproof tray or plate, cover in foil and heat in a 180 degrees C (355 F) oven for about 8 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 2 or 3 minutes to crisp the edges. If you are heating from frozen, it will take a minute or 2 longer.
Nutrition Estimate:
Nutritional Disclaimer:
The nutritional information is an estimate only, and is derived from online calculators. For accurate results, we recommend calculating the nutritional information based on the ingredients and brands you use.
Niya says
hi can we use cornflour instead of gluten free flour, in India we don't get great blends. or will anything else work? I do have xanthum gum by itself.
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Niya,
I am sorry, but I have not tested this recipe with just corn flour. It has been tested with either regular all-purpose flour or several different gluten-free blends.
If you did wish to try it, you could try a smaller batch as a test batch, ie: cut the recipe into thirds, using only 2 egg whites and a third of the remaining ingredients, to see if it is successful.
If you give it a try, I'd be curious to know how you get on!
Alex xo
Lucy says
I made these over the weekend, and they were eaten up by the family very quickly! I used a muffin tin as per the recipe substitutions, but am going to get a friand pan, as this is a recipe I will be making a lot, and I think they look so pretty 🙂 I also used frozen blueberries as they're very pricey at the moment, and they worked well. I will try with fresh soon.
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Lucy,
So happy to hear that you had such success with this recipe 🙂
I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment.
Alex xo
Susan Scarff says
Is the full amount of sugar required in this recipe ? I don’t like too much sweetness & usually cut sugar content down if it won’t affect the recipe structure . Thank you
Alexandra Cook says
Hi Susan,
I have not tested this recipe using less sugar, so I am afraid I can't say if it will change the result.
If you do give it a try, please let us know how you get on! Alex xo