Raspberry, strawberry & white chocolate friands

Delicate pink morsels, reminiscent of all the blossoming still to come.

Photo: Ruth Barry

Apples, cinnamon, citrus, and chocolate have carried me through the winter, and although we're still far away from berries and stone fruits, their flavor is what I want. Recently, I found some freeze-dried raspberries and strawberries in the cupboard that had gone a bit soft. I thought about how I could incorporate them into a cake instead of sending them to the compost bin.

I started making friands several years ago as a way of using up leftover egg whites from another recipe. They’re little almond cakes, usually baked in small round or oval forms, and are closely related to financiers. (There's no consensus on the difference between the friand and the financier. Some say that a financier shouldn't have any additional flavors, or that a friand should have added fruit, or that a friand is just what Australians call a financier.) They’re gently crisp on top and very tender in the middle. For this recipe, I blitzed the softened raspberries and strawberries to a powder and added it to the friand batter. I tucked a slab of white chocolate into the middle of each cake. The result: delicate pink morsels, reminiscent of all the blossoming still to come.

Photos: Ruth Barry

I’d recommend passing the blitzed raspberries and strawberries through a very fine sieve to remove the seeds (or buy powders to save yourself the trouble). It’s not essential, but it will improve the texture of the cake. I use a silicone mold with mini, oval-shaped forms, but a mold with round forms or a mini-muffin pan will work just as well. I grease the molds with baking spray, but you can also just melt some unsalted butter and coat the forms with a pastry brush. No need for baking paper. These are best enjoyed the day they’re made, but you can store them in an airtight container for 2–3 days.

Photo: Ruth Barry

Raspberry & strawberry friands with white chocolate

Makes 16

• 100 grams powdered sugar

• 40 grams all-purpose flour

• 10 grams powdered raspberry and strawberry (50/50 mix)

• ¼ teaspoon fine salt

• ¼ teaspoon vanilla paste (or ½ teaspoon vanilla extract)

• 60 grams ground almond

• 70 grams egg whites (approximately three egg whites)

• 80 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

• 55 grams white chocolate, chopped into 16 even pieces (or use white chocolate chips)

• flaked almonds to top

Equipment:

• silicone mold with 16 mini oval or round forms (or a mini-muffin tin)

• piping bag with nozzle (optional)

Sieve the powdered sugar, flour, raspberry and strawberry powder, and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla paste and ground almonds, and use a whisk to thoroughly mix everything together.

Use a fork to gently whisk the egg whites for 30 seconds, then pour into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Pour the melted butter on top. Use the whisk to stir until everything is very well mixed. Set the bowl in the fridge for half an hour. The mixture will firm up but remain loose.

Photos: Ruth Barry

Preheat the oven to 180°C (with fan). Use baking spray or melted butter to grease the molds. If you have one, transfer the friand mixture to a piping bag fitted with a nozzle with a plain, round tip. Pipe a shallow layer of the batter into the bottom of each mold. Top each one with a piece of white chocolate, then pipe the remaining friand batter to cover the chocolate. Top each cake with a pinch of flaked almonds.

If you don’t have a piping bag, use a teaspoon to fill the molds with batter instead.

Place the silicone mold onto a baking tray, then bake the friands for 20–22 minutes, or until they’re evenly browned on top. Allow to cool for a few minutes before turning the friands out onto a cooling rack.