You say friand, I say financier… This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe – coconut friands (p 456) – threw me into a bit of a spin. I have heard my mum talking about friands, which all along I had thought was just a different name for financiers – turns out even Dorie was confused – read her excellent post which includes the history of the financier here. Well in actual fact, they are related – whilst financiers are rectangular in shape, friands tend to be oval or round (baked in mini muffin pans) and friands often contain fruit whilst financiers tend to be simple and elegant (butter, egg whites, almonds and sugar – can’t go wrong). I know my mum and dad like friands because they are small – a nice alternative to a huge muffin or biscuit (cookie for you North Americans) with a cup of tea or coffee – so I was keen to try these out.
In fact, because in this version the ground almonds are replaced with coconut, these reminded me much more of macaroons (yes, with two Os!) than a tea cake – and I was pleasantly surprised they were lovely and light with a good chewy texture, and not too sweet. Perfect for a mid-morning (or afternoon) treat. These are so easy I will be making them again – they’d be perfect for a ladies’ afternoon tea!
French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs, rather, we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves (trust me, you definitely want this book!) which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Go on, treat yourself and join us this year!
Did you know? I am leading a foodie tour of Paris this July! Read all about it here. Only 2 spots left!!!
Now, if these had nut meal instead of the coconut, I think I would have totally been on board…
Financier is an interesting name…I’ll have to catch up on the history of that one.
You culd totally make a version with nut meal…
Okay, I know I’ve been out every night this week, but…I am left somewhat speechless.
I did not see them served at eight.
I did not see them on my plate.
Not in the dark! Not in a tree!
Not in my car! Oh where’d they be?
I did not get them in the rain.
Even when I searched – in vain.
I did not see them, here or there.
I could not find them ANYWHERE!
I made these last weekend and they went straight to school because I didn’t think you’d like them. Having had them myself now, I know you would. Will make some more on the weekend, ok?
Mr. Neil’s comment is hilarious! Your friands do look great and would be wonderful for an afternoon tea with the ladies…be sure to invite your husband though 🙂
But of course!
I love coconut, these sound good. I think it’s time to try another of your recipes
I had heard that friands were all the rage in Australia where they’re more popular than the American-style cupcake. And that they were oval and you needed a special pan. These look like nice, simple but yummy fairycakes which are much more my line than cupcakes! 🙂
Yes mu mum makes them a lot!
Thank you for explaining the difference between the two! I’m weak for anything lemon so I’ll definitely give these a try. Thanks Mardi!
🙂
They sound wonderful! I will have to give them a whirl.
Have a fantastic weekend Mardi.
They’re so good!
They reminded us of coconut macaroons too. Loved, loved them! Sounds like you better whip up another batch pretty quickly!
Indeed!
Uh oh, I would have been in very big trouble if I made dessert and didn’t leave any for my husband. That said, I didn’t really expect to love these either, but they were great! We will be making them again too.
I was surprised how much I loved these!
I love the pink picture at the top! Lovely! And they look so cute in the white mini cupcake holders. I am back in the saddle this week w FFWD. It’s been a while. I had fun with these though for me they were a little too buttery. But I found a way to make it all work.
Hope all is going well since we saw each other in NY!
They lend themselves to different interpretations for sure!
Thanks for explaining about the difference between friands and financiers. If I’d realized the shape was an important distinction, rather than ingredients, maybe I could have tried these with nuts instead of coconut. I wouldn’t touch coconut with a 10-foot pole. As someone who enjoyed last week’s sardines, I guess i”m on the other side this week.
Haha – too funny! Yes, you could try with nut flour…
thanks for clarifying the friand-financier issue! LOL! i love them both, either way! i grew up eating macaroons (with 2 Os), which is very popular in the Philippines because of the abundance of coconuts! i can just taste these friands in my mouth…chewy, nutty…yummy!
These are definitely very good!
Mardi, And, to think that a year ago I had never heard of a friand nor a financier. Now I know the difference between the two! It sounded like a money issue at first! I like coconut. These little buggers were moist and easy. Although I don’t have many ladies in for tea anymore (maybe I should), I will make these again. Mary
Well you’re doing really well then! Look at all you’ve learned!
You have such beautiful photo’s! Congrats on Top 9!
Major congrats on your foodbuzz top 9, today!
I’m so glad you explained the difference between friands and financiers…it was nearly impossible to get any info when I googled so I gave up! Glad some of my wonderful blogger friends have better information gleaning methods 🙂 Yours look wonderful…and, you’re right, they’re a lot like macaroons.
Thanks – it was a little confusing, for sure!
Macaroons! That is a great relation to this – I also thought the same thing, and adored these! Love the pink bowl 🙂