The other day I was counting out my friand dishes and was shocked to discover I had over 30 of them! Though my family and I have always been a fan of cupcakes (we serve it every Raya long before it became a fad), in recent years I’ve grown to love friands just as much. To digress I like my cupcakes petit, two bites at the most and light and fluffy. The dense American ones with heavy Royal icing is just not my style.

Which is why I think it’s time that friands have their deserved time in the sun. While cupcakes are perfect, a friand is more rustic. Its texture is between a cupcake and a muffin. Because of this it stores well.

A friand is also a lot healthier. It uses egg white, icing sugar and not much flour and lots of berries. Usually friand recipes use almond meal. So compared to a sugar laden cupcake- friands are almost guilt-free and equally delicious.

Why do I like friands?

It has the same appeal as a cupcake or a muffin. It’s like having a whole cake in your hands. Though I can name a few of this mini wonders like madeleines and brioches, a friand gives you more satisfaction, less guilt and you feel after one, that you’ve had a whole cake.

"It's like having a whole little cake in your hands"

I also like the oval and rectangular shapes in comes in. It has a 50s feel to it hence is great for gifts and special occasions.
Here’s a quick recipe for friands.

Ingredients:
6 egg whites (keep the yolks and make mayonnaise with them or custard)
185g butter melted
1 cup almond meal
1½ cups icing sugar
½ cup plain flour
100g strawberries (or other berries like blueberries or raspberries)

Method:
Take egg white and whisk with fork until combined
Add butter, almond meal, icing sugar and flour using a wooden spoon, stir until combined
Put it in oven at 180 degrees for 25 minutes
Stand it for 5 minutes before taking it out of the mould

Results:
A nice light cake texture that is really satisfying. I love to drizzle some passionfruit sauce on top and fresh fruits. You can also serve it with whipped cream or ice cream.

Chef says:
1/ Don’t worry about not having friend moulds, you can use cupcakes moulds first.
2/ Try and put in dried fruits and nuts for a fresh take on a fruit cake

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