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Blackberry Friands (Star Anise Recipe)

Blackberry friands on a marble board.
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5 from 20 reviews

Blackberry friands are little oval almond cakes made with brown butter, egg whites, almond meal, fresh blackberries, and star anise. This easy recipe makes 8 moist friands in about an hour, dusted with icing sugar for coffee or teatime.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 6.4 oz (180 g) unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup + 7 tsp (60 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups + 5 tsp (200 g) powdered (icing) sugar
  • 1 1/4 cups (120 g) almond meal (ground almonds)
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground star anise (optional)
  • 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (150 g egg) whites (see note #1)
  • 1 pinch of salt 
  • 8-16 fresh blackberries

* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 340°F (170°C). Prepare a silicone friand mold (no need to grease it). If you use a nonstick friand pan, butter and flour its cavities, and refrigerate the tin until ready to use.
  2. To make the brown butter, cut the butter into small pieces and place it in a small saucepan. Bring the pan over low to medium heat and melt the butter until golden brown. Watch for a golden-brown color, solid brown milk solids on the sides and bottom of the pan, and a hazelnut smell.
  3. Pour the butter into another bowl to stop cooking, keeping the browned solids. Let the brown butter cool to room temperature.
  4. To make the friand batter, sift all-purpose flour, icing (powdered) sugar, almond meal, ground star anise, and salt in a large mixing bowl. 
  5. In a clean, separate bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer or a hand whisk for 15-20 seconds. Pour egg whites into the flour mixture, and stir until combined. Add cooled melted butter and mix gently until just combined.
  6. Take the prepared mold out of the fridge and fill the cavities to two-thirds full. Arrange 1-2 whole blackberries on top.
  7. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the edges become golden brown. Test with a toothpick: it comes out clean.
  8. Take the cakes out of the oven and let them cool in the mold for 3-5 minutes. To help loosen them, use a butter knife to run carefully around the sides of each friand. Turn the pan onto a wire rack and let the cakes cool completely. To serve, dust friands with icing sugar.

Notes

  1. 150 g egg whites are approximately equal to 4 raw fresh egg whites from extra-large-sized chicken eggs.
  2. To make ground star anise, crush 3 whole star anises in a spice grinder and pass through a mini-sieve two to three times.
  3. Avoid overwhipping egg whites: they shouldn't be mounted.
  4. If you use a metal friand pan, bake your friands at 355°F (180°C) for 20-25 minutes.
  5. This recipe makes 8 friands. If you have a friand mold with 12 cavities, multiply the recipe ingredients by 1.5.
  6. The friand batter fills about ten cups of a regular muffin tray. Bake at 355°F (180°C) for 15-20 minutes (use a toothpick test).

Nutrition

Find it online: https://www.bakinglikeachef.com/blackberry-star-anise-friands-yotam-ottolenghi/