Gluten-Free Blueberry Friands

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.

Course Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Morning Tea

Cuisine French Inspired

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 25

Cooling Time 30

Total Time 1 15

Servings friands

Calories 298kcal

Author Alexandra Cook - It's Not Complicated Recipes

Equipment

1 12-hole Friand Tin See Note 1

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.

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