These cute Blackberry Friands are packed with juicy blackberries and star anise flavor to make a special sweet treat. Baked as hearts, they are especially enjoyable on Valentine’s day. You’ll be sure to enjoy these newly shaped and tasting Friands.
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What is a friand?
It is a small almond cake popular mainly in Australia and New Zealand. A friand usually has additional flavorings such as some spices, nuts, and chocolate.
Friands vs financiers
The basic recipe of friands and financiers calls for the same ingredients such as beurre noisette (brown butter), egg whites, powdered sugar and flour.
Financiers are small French cakes baked in a traditional rectangular mold, which resembles a bar of gold. Popular in Australia and New Zealand, friands are made in a special oval aspic mold.
It seems that the main differences between friands and financiers are the molds used to bake the treats, in addition to flavorings such as chocolate, fruit, nuts, and coconut added while making friands.
What is a friand pan?Â
Oval aspic molds with a star or diamond imprint in the bottom of each tin are authentic molds to bake these small cakes. You can easily find them on Etsy, but you will want to buy the non-stick ones to facilitate baking.
Nowadays, friands are often made in a 12-hole non-stick friand pan. If you don’t have one, you can easily bake these small cakes in a silicone friand mold or a muffin pan.
I went beyond the traditions and made friands in a mold similar to this heart-shaped silicone mold. Well, Valentine’s Day spirit is in the air.
These small Blackberry Friands are so cute and tasty that you do not feel guilty about these pretty cakes! Serve them with a cup of your morning or afternoon tea or coffee. Bring them to parties, picnics, or put them in a lunch box.
Why blackberry friands recipe works
- The recipe is super easy to make.
- Replacing blackberries with raspberries or blueberries makes another variation of the friand recipe.
- Experimenting with different shapes of molds opens possibilities to create these small cakes for specially themed parties.
- Friands are a great lunchbox idea and make a perfect edible gift.
How to make blackberry friands step by step
Preheat oven to 430 degrees F/ 220 C. Prepare a friand mold or a heart-shaped silicone mold: butter and flour cavities and refrigerate the mold while making the friand batter.
To make the brown butter, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat till the golden color (photo 1). Once it is ready (look for the golden brown color, solid brown sediments on sides and bottom of the pan and hazelnut smell), pour butter in another bowl to stop cooking. Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain through a mini-sieve and discard the solids. Set the brown butter aside (photo 2).
To make the batter, in a bowl, sift flour, powdered (icing) icing sugar, almond flour, ground star anise and salt. In a separate bowl, slightly beat egg whites with a fork or a hand whisk (photo 3) for a few seconds (they do not need to be mounted). Pour beaten egg whites into the dry mixture and combine. Add the orange zest (photo 4)…
and brown butter, and mix till the batter becomes homogeneous (photo 5). Take the prepared mold out of the fridge and fill the cavities up to two-thirds. Arrange two whole blackberries on top (photo 6).
Bake friands for 9 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 410 F/210 C and continue to bake for 8 to 10 minutes longer: the edges of friands have to become golden brown and the centers get a slight “bump”. Check the readiness of friands with a toothpick: the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Take the cakes out of the oven and let them cool in the mold. Remove friands and place them on a wire rack (photo 7). Sprinkle cakes with powdered (icing) sugar (photo 8).
Expert tips
- To make ground star anise, crush 3 whole star anise in a spice grinder and pass through a mini-sieve two to three times or use a store-bought ground star anise.
- Replace fresh blackberries with fresh blueberries or raspberries, or use frozen berries.
- Store cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
More Valentines Day dessert recipes you will love
- No-Bake Raspberry Oreo Cheesecake Recipe
- Irresistible Ile Flottante With Pink Praline
- Pink Praline – Candied Almonds Recipe
- Browse all Valentine’s Day Recipes
Please, note that the recipe was primarily developed using gram measurements for the high precision and then converted to the US volume and weight measurements.
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Easy Blackberry Heart-Shaped Friands
These cute Blackberry Friands are packed with juicy blackberries and star anise flavor to make a special sweet treat. Baked as hearts, they are especially enjoyable on Valentine’s day. You’ll be sure to enjoy these newly shaped and tasting Friands!
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 friands 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients
For the friands:
- 6.4 oz (180 g) butter
- 1/3 cup + 7 tsp (60 g) flour
- 1 1/2 cups + 5 tsp ( 200 g) powdered (icing) sugar
- 1 1/4 cups (120 g) almond flour
- 1 1/2 tsp ground star anise
- 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (150 g egg) whites (see note #1)
- 1 tsp orange zest
- 1 pinch of salt
For the decoration:
- 16 fresh blackberries
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 430 degrees F/ 220 C. Prepare a friand mold or a heart-shaped silicone mold: butter and flour cavities and refrigerate the mold while making the friand batter.
-
To make the brown butter, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat till the golden color. Once it is ready (look for the golden brown color, solid brown sediments on sides and bottom of the pan and hazelnut smell), pour butter in another bowl to stop cooking. Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain through a mini-sieve and discard the solids. Set the brown butter aside.
-
To make the friand batter, in a bowl, sift flour, powdered (icing) icing sugar, almond flour, ground star anise and salt. In a separate bowl, slightly beat egg whites with a fork or a hand whisk for a few seconds (they do not need to be mounted). Pour beaten egg whites into the dry mixture and combine. Add the orange zest and brown butter, and mix till the batter becomes homogeneous.
-
Take the prepared mold out of the fridge and fill the cavities up to two-thirds. Arrange two whole blackberries on top. Bake friands for 9 minutes. Then lower the oven temperature to 410 F/210 C and continue to bake for another 8 to 10 minutes: the edges of friands have to become golden brown and the centers get a slight “bump”. Check the readiness of friands with a toothpick: the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Take the cakes out of the oven and let them cool in the mold. Remove friands and place them on a wire rack. Sprinkle cakes with powdered (icing) sugar.
Notes
- 150 g egg whites approximately equal 4 raw fresh egg whites from extra large size chicken eggs.
- To make ground star anise, crush 3 whole star anise in a spice grinder and pass through a mini-sieve two to three times or use a store-bought ground star anise.
- Replace fresh blackberries with fresh blueberries or raspberries, or use frozen berries.
- Store friands in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 387
- Sugar: 26.3 g
- Sodium: 168 mg
- Fat: 25.9 mg
- Saturated Fat: 12.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 35.3 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 6.3 g
- Cholesterol: 48 mg
Keywords: friands, blackberry friands, friand recipe, valentines desserts, easy recipe
The recipe was adapted from https://ottolenghi.co.uk/. It was originally published in January 2019. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.
Elaine says
Thanks for the easy-to-follow instructions. While these heart-shaped friands will be perfect for Valentine’s Day, I can see that this recipe will be useful year-round in different shapes! Thanks.
★★★★★
Irina says
You are right, Elaine! You can easily use different molds to bake these small cakes. Thank you for your comment. Please, enjoy!
michele says
I’ve never heard of friands but these pretty treats are perfect for Valentine’s Day. I love the options for different types of berries and the tips on star anise.
★★★★★
Irina says
Michele, I am happy to give you a new baking idea for Valentine’s day! Happy baking and enjoy!
Carrie Robinson says
Such a perfect recipe for Valentine’s Day! 🙂
★★★★
Irina says
Thank you very much, Carrie!
Sally @ Savory With Soul says
These look perfect for Valentine’s Day – my husband will love them! Thanks!
★★★★★
Irina says
Oh, it is great to hear, Sally! Happy baking and enjoy!
Shinta Simon says
I have never made friands, and I’ve defininitely missed out on the good stuff! These would be so cute for Valentines Day!
★★★★★
Irina says
Shinta, you will love these friands. You might decide to double the recipe, since they are so good! Thank you for your comment.
Traci says
Yayyyy! I’ve found a new, reliable Valentine’s day recipe to make for my sweetheart. He’ll love these! Thanks for another winner 🙂
★★★★★
Irina says
You are welcome, Traci. These pretty and tasty cakes are so easy to make! Just enjoy!
Suzy says
Love how easy these are to make! I am such a fan of blackberries in baked goods! Perfect for any day of the year!
★★★★★
Irina says
I agree with you, Suzy! Easily made in a muffin pan, they make a great alternative to well known muffins all year round. Thanks for your comment.
Sara Welch says
These look so light and juicy; a perfect dessert for Valentine’s Day, indeed!
★★★★★
Irina says
Yes, they are!:) Thank you for your comment, Sara!
Julie says
Cute idea for Valentines Day! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you so much, Julie!
Jayne says
Made these last night. Amazing! Everyone loved them and the blackberry flavor.
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you, Jayne, for letting me know that you loved the recipe!
Katie says
These look so fun to try. I can’t wait!
★★★★★
Irina says
Thanks, Katie! Happy baking!
Colleen says
I’ve never heard of friands, but they look and sound amazing. And perfect for Valentine’s Day. Can’t wait to try these. Thank you!
★★★★★
Irina says
Yes, it is a great idea to make on that special day… something cute and romantic. Happy baking, Colleen. Thanks for your comment.
Veena Azmanov says
Cute and creative, and a delicious Valentine option. A recipe for the Day soon.
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you, Veena! These Friands so cute and tasty that I would recommend to double the recipe:)
Kushigalu says
Something new to me. These would be the perfect treat for Valentine’s day.
★★★★★
Irina says
Thank you very much, Kushigalu!
Bry says
Friands are so hard to find here in Scotland, but this recipe means I don’t need to go hunting for them anymore – I can make my own, AND they’re so easy and yummy, too! Love this recipe!
Irina says
Thank you, Bry! I am happy to hear that this recipe is loved in Scottland:)