Light, fluffy Blueberry Friands with lemon. Gently citrusy and fruity with an optional drizzle of white chocolate. Perfect for using up egg whites. Gluten free and optional dairy free.
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Blueberry Friands – The perfect recipe for using up egg whites
Friands are delicious and simple to make. And they are my ‘go to’ recipe for using up egg whites. Today I’m sharing my gluten free Blueberry Friands with Lemon (which make a nice change to Raspberry Friands or an egg white Pavlova).
I made them after a recent binge on Gluten Free Pasta, which resulted in an untold number of egg whites lurking in the fridge. Fortunately, I always label my egg white pots with how many egg whites are in each… It makes it so much easier to choose the right recipes to use them up.
And given that these Blueberry Friands needed 5 of them… It was the perfect post-pasta recipe!
Should I make Blueberry Friands if I haven’t got leftover egg whites?
Hell yeah! They are so outrageously delicious, they absolutely need to be made anyway. Honestly. If you’ve never tried Friands (also known as Financiers), you’re seriously missing out!
They’re light, fluffy and naturally nutty and look as divine as they taste. Think of them as ‘posh cupcakes’ but better. And when it comes to finding the right number of egg whites, you have options…
- Crack open fresh eggs and use the egg yolks for something else (I’ve given a few suggestions below). Or…
- Use a carton of refrigerated egg whites from the supermarket for simplicity… Perfect for making Blueberry Friands. Plus… I’ve given the weight of egg whites required on the recipe card to save you the maths!
Using up leftover egg yolks
If you go for the fresh egg option, you might be wondering what can you use the yolks for. How about…
- Make Gluten Free Pasta or Spinach Ravioli… As much as you like… And if necessary freeze some for another day.
- Enrich a delicious omelette or Frittata with extra egg yolk. It’s one of my favourite protein-rich meals.
- Indulge with a Double Chocolate Cheesecake… which needs an extra 3 yolks in the mix.
- Make a delicious dessert of White Chocolate Crème Brûlée or a Crème Brûlée Tart.
- Freeze a batch of homemade, churned Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream… Or Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream…
- Have a dinner party and serve Tiramisu Trifle.
- Take your Jam Tarts to a new level with yolk-enriched gluten free Pâté Sucrée pastry.
What else do you need to make gluten free Lemon and Blueberry Friands?
Other than egg whites (which are essential to lightness, texture and rise when baking Financiers of any description), you’ll need a few other ingredients to make gluten free Lemon and Blueberry Friands…
- Ground Almonds (deskinned, blanched almond meal) – which forms the base of any basic Friand recipe.
- A little gluten free Plain Flour. I use my home-mixed white cake flour Blend A (found at the bottom of my page on Gluten Free Flours and Flour Blends). However, there is so little flour in the recipe, that any good gluten free flour BLEND will work fine. Do NOT use self-raising flour though. There is no baking powder or additional raising agent in friands.
- A tiny bit of Xanthan Gum (although if you can’t tolerate it, the cakes should still hold reasonably well without it).
- Icing Sugar (also known as confectioner’s or powdered sugar). Do not use regular granulated sugar for this recipe.
- Melted Butter or a like-for-like creamy dairy free alternative.
- Lemon Zest – to bring a bit of citrus zing. Although if you want plain vanilla, just replace the zest for a drop of vanilla extract.
- Fresh Blueberries… Which are pretty essential for making Blueberry Friands. In the recipe, I’ve suggested these are placed on top of the cake batter, so they can be seen after baking. But if you prefer, you can simply fold them into the batter so they are inside the sponge.
Do you need a friand tin to make Friands?
While Friands are traditionally baked in oval moulds, you don’t actually need a friand tin to make them. Round blueberry friands are just as delicious as oval ones… even if there is something quite adorable about the unusual and traditional shape.
If you are a baking pedant like me however (or simply can’t resist the opportunity to buy a new baking tin), this is the Friand Tin that I use. If using a standard muffin tin, make absolutely sure it’s non-stick. And lightly grease the insides regardless so that your Friands come out in one piece.
Tips for making the lightest, fluffiest gluten free Blueberry Friands with Lemon
There’s very little to tell you about making gluten free Friands… They are honestly that easy. But nonetheless, I’ll offer some thoughts anyway, as I know you always appreciate them…
- Use super-fresh egg whites (or check that carton egg whites are well in date). Financiers rely on egg white for rise and lightness.
- Lightly grease the baking tin even if it’s non-stick. This will ensure the Friands come out in one piece.
- Make sure there are no lumps in the dry ingredients. For preference sieve the flour and icing sugar. Ground almonds are more reluctant to fit through sieve holes, but can be carefully broken down with the back of a spoon.
- Don’t over-whip the eggs… They should be a ‘light frothy foam’ and not stiff.
- Fold the ingredients together gently and lightly. It’s important to maintain as much air as possible for a light crumb.
- Use an ice cream scoop, ladle or jug to pour the friand batter into the tin moulds. It’s a runnier batter than many cakes.
- For Blueberry Friands with the fruit on top, don’t push the blueberries into the batter too far. The sponge will rise around them and they may get swamped. Lightly press them onto the top so they are only fractionally submerged.
- Cool the friands for 5 minutes before removing from the tin. This helps them to come out more easily.
To decorate with white chocolate or not?
Financiers are mostly served undecorated, with just a dusting of icing sugar on top. However, because I love the combination of lemon and berry with a touch of rich, vanillary white chocolate, I decided to ‘corrupt’ my Blueberry Friands with a light drizzle.
It’s up to you though. Regardless, white chocolate seems to be notoriously hard to melt into anything drizzleable. Apparently, it burns quite easily. Although I’ve found that some white chocolate brands simply melt better… and it seems to have nothing to do with ‘quality’ or technique!
I’ve personally long given up on the microwave melting method (which always fails me). Instead, I melt white chocolate by placing it in a bowl and then placing that bowl in a larger bowl containing a small amount of hot (not boiling) water. I then stir the chocolate after a few minutes… Or I use a double boiler. And I never place the chocolate in a metal bowl!
How to serve these delicious morsels
Blueberry Friands (decorated or not) are often served with morning coffee or tea, as ‘elevenses’ or as part of a very British afternoon tea. But forget the tradition and formality, I personally just plunge my hand into the cake tin and scoff wildly.
But why stop there? They also make a great dessert too… bathed in vanilla custard with (or without) extra fruit.
Ready to make gluten free Lemon and Blueberry Friands?
And so you have it… My recipe for gluten free Blueberry Friands with lemon is just below (scroll a further inch or two). I hope you love every citrussy, fruity, fluffy bite. If you make them please come back and tell me with a comment, social media message (Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest) or recipe rating (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️).
And don’t forget to grab your inspiration from our incredible Gluten Free Recipe ‘On-Line Book’ Index. We’ve got nearly 500 FREE recipes to whet your appetite. ALL gluten free!
Shared with my love
Lemon and Blueberry Friands
Key equipment
- Oven
- 12-hole muffin or Friand tin
- jug or ice cream scoop (optional)
- cake skewer
Ingredients
- 130 g ground almonds
- 50 g gluten free (or wheat) plain flour Gluten Free Alchemist mix A – see NOTES
- ¼ tsp xanthan gum
- 190 g icing sugar
- 1 lemon zest finely zested
- 5 large egg whites (approx 200g total weight for 1x amount)) UK large size
- 160 g unsalted butter (or dairy free alternative) melted and cooled slightly
- 85 g fresh blueberries (approx weight)
- white chocolate (optional) to drizzle
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas 4 and prepare a 12 hole muffin tin (or Friand tin) by lightly greasing.
- Weigh and mix the almonds, flour, xanthan gum, icing sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl, making sure any lumps are broken down. (If possible, sieve the flour and icing sugar and break down the ground almonds with the back of a spoon).
- In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the egg whites until they have become a light, frothy foam.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the melted butter and whisked egg whites. Gently fold to combine completely.
- Spoon/pour the mixture into the moulds (about two-thirds full) – it may help to use an ice cream scoop or small ladle to reduce any mess.
- Place 3 or 4 blueberries on top of each Friand (depending on the size of the moulds/blueberries), very slightly pushing into the batter.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the Friands are golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Leave in the tin for about 5 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. If any of the Friands have stuck, gently ease the tip of a small silicone spatula or knife round the edge to release.
- Optional: Carefully melt some white chocolate and drizzle over to decorate.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
Gluten Free Blueberry Friands shared with
- Fiesta Friday #503 with Angie
- Full Plate Thursday with Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
- What’s For Dinner #434 with The Lazy Gastronome
What a beautiful dessert! I have never seen the oval shaped molds before, but it does make for a nice presentation. I’ll bet they taste great!
Thank you Leslie. The oval moulds are apparently traditional for Friands. And I’m a sucker for tradition! xxx
What beautiful little yummies!! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party – hope the rest of your week is amazing!
Thank you Helen. You’re welcome and have a great week too! x
Hello I am trying to take my family off sugar, do you think tinned apple, apple puree or bananas could be substituted to make these sweet enough?
Hi Lola
I genuinely do not know as it’s not something I’ve tried. When subbing standard sugar for something less refined and (hopefully) healthier, I usually use something like honey or maple syrup or even coconut sugar (which I fine grind to make a like for like texture re icing sugar).
Best wishes
Kate
Can I make with gluten free plain flour pls
Hi Helen.
The recipe has been created and tested with a combination of ground almonds (which are traditional for Friands) and gluten free plain flour.
I am not sure if that was what you were asking?
However… If you are asking whether the ground almonds can also be substituted for gluten free flour, then I am unsure as it is not something I have tried. You could test with a half-batch or less of mixture as a starter to be sure.
Best wishes
Kate