Christmas Friands
Christmas in a muffin? Well, not exactly, but a Christmas in a friand. So good, so easy and so festive. Perfect for gifting or a Chrissy Brekky!
A friand is a small, almond-based pastry originating from France. It typically has a light, moist texture and a distinct oval shape which is not necessarily dictated by tradition, but has become associated with friands over the years. Flavors often include almond, lemon, and various fruits, making it a delightful and popular sweet treat. We tried with the friand tin, we really did, but this recipe is so moist and really needs a paper liner to make removal from the tin easy...thus, they are round! But the taste remains the same no matter the shape.
Dust them with icing sugar, they improve with age (like a lot of things) and they are perfect for gifting. They are also perfect for a Christmas morning snack if you are not doing a big breakfast thing. Plus you can make them at least a week in advance.
So merry Friand-ing. (For some reason we have a couple of Christmas themed friands on this site!) See below for more friand recipes;
Quinoa, Almond & Cherry Friands
Upside Down Cherry Friand Tart
Come join our FREE TRIAL on the Insider Club for more great recipes
The Lazy Sourdough Bakery course now baking.
The Whole Scoop Ice Cream course is churning now!
Need
- 280 Grams raw caster sugar BUY
- 150 Grams almonds
- 50 Grams cornflour or cornstarch
- Pinches pink salt flakes plus more BUY
- 200 Grams egg whites
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla bean paste BUY
- 1/2 Teaspoon almond extract
- 10 Drops doTERRA wild orange oil BUY
- 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 120 Grams Beurre Noisette or Brown Butter (this is a flavour changer and you really need to do it!) Recipe BUY
- 50 Grams craisins, roughly chopped
- 50 Grams shelled pistachios roughly chopped
- small wedges of candied orange
Do
- 1
Place paper liners into a 12 hole muffin tin and set aside.
- 2
Preheat oven to 200ºC.
- 3
Place sugar, almonds, flour and salt into Thermomix bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Remove from bowl and set aside.
- 4
Place egg whites, vanilla bean paste and almond essence into Thermomix bowl and mix 30 sec/speed 4.
- 5
Add orange oil, cinnamon and milled almond mixture. Add browned butter through hole in lid, a little at a time 12 sec/Interval/dough setting.
- 6
Divide between prepared tins, top with craisins and pistachios, push them slightly under the surface. Top with a wedge of candied orange and a sprinkle of pink salt flakes and bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen and cooked. Leave in tin for 5 minutes before removing to cool. Dust with icing sugar whilst still warm.
Bree is a mum who has always loved cooking and baking and became a big Tenina fan when she got her first Thermomix. She was on the very first foodie trip as a customer and hasn't looked back, working for Tenina for over 5 years as a recipe tester and developer, branching out into video master for all of Tenina's lives! She still runs her baking business, creating amazing cakes and macarons for her customer list.
