Coconut & Lime Friands

 

(Originally published, Oct-2015, then updated by Tania, October-2018)

 

If you’ve been around my website you know I love making these lovely little French tea cakes simply because their taste and texture are beautiful. They are made with rice flour, egg whites, icing sugar, melted butter and ground almonds. The fine rice flour gives them a fluffy texture inside and the almonds add a crispy outside crust, making them rather irresistible and gluten-free to boot!

Another reason I get into them is you can experiment (who doesn’t like playing with their food) by adding all sorts of nuts. any type of fruit and/or chocolate.

These particular ones are filled with coconut and are lime flavoured. I’ve also added extra deliciousness by spooning some lime glaze over their tops.

These Friands taste great on their own so if you like, you can skip the added glaze but I 100% recommend!

 

INGREDIENTS

Friands
1 tablespoon lime zest & juice (zest from 3 limes & juice from 1)
250 g butter
8 medium-sized eggs (at room temperature & you will only need the whites)
2 cups / 300 g icing sugar (powdered/confectioner’s sugar)
2/3 cup / 70 g ground almonds
2/3 cup / 110 g rice flour
2/3 cup / 50 g desiccated coconut

Glaze
1 teaspoon / 5 g butter
½ cup / 75 g icing sugar (powdered/confectioner’s sugar)
1 teaspoon lime zest & 1 tablespoon of lime juice (both from 1 lime)

Icing sugar (powdered/confectioner’s sugar) to dust
2 tablespoons / 8 g shredded coconut (or desiccated if that’s all you have)

 

Makes 9 or 12

 

Notes

• You will need 3 limes for this recipe and if making the glaze, you’ll need 4.

 

STEP BY STEP

Friands

For this recipe, you will need a 12-hole standard-sized muffin tin or an oval hole, Friand tin (it will make 9).

First, zest 3 limes to get the tablespoon of zest and then…

…juice 1 or 2 of them (depending on how juicy they are) to get the tablespoon of juice. Leaving both aside for now.

Next, in a small saucepan, over a low heat, melt the butter. Leave it in the saucepan and set it aside for now.

Preheat the oven to 150°C fan/convection oven or 170°C conventional oven, on bake, with a rack situated in the centre of the oven.

Next, separate the eggs, placing the whites into a medium-sized bowl.

Lightly whisk the egg whites until they are just frothy.

• What you are doing here is just breaking them up (this shouldn’t take longer than 30 seconds). If you whisk them too much, your Friands will end up with a chewy, meringue texture and when they are baking they will spread outwards in the tin rather than rise up and will stick and be impossible to get out of the tin.

Add to the whites, the lime zest and juice, icing sugar, ground almonds, rice flour and the coconut….but don’t mix it together just yet!

Start whisking it all together whilst pouring in the ‘still warm’ melted butter and then continue whisking until the batter is smooth and lump-free.

Liberally spray the tin with non-stick cooking spray (including the top).

Pour the batter into a pouring jug and then fill the holes, nearly to the tops. 

Check that they all have the same amount of batter in them and if not, take some batter from the fuller ones and add it to the lesser ones. 

• As you can see, they are quite full, but that’s okay, they should rise straight up and not so much outwards.

Place them in the oven and bake them for 30 minutes standard-size or 35 minutes, oval, Friand size or until they are golden brown and the centres spring back when you gently push them in. Also, a sharp knife or skewer inserted into the centres should come out clean and dry.

Leave them in the tin for 10 minutes (if they have overflowed, trim them with a knife).

Check the Friands haven’t stuck in the tin. If so, loosen them with a knife and then remove them and place them on a cooling rack.

• If you’ve sprayed the tin well and are feeling brave, carefully flip the whole thing over and they should fall out onto a cooling rack and then turn them upright.

Glaze

If you don’t feel like making the glaze you could just dust the tops with icing sugar and/or sprinkle over the shredded coconut…

…otherwise…

Whilst waiting for your French tea cakes to cool, make the glaze.

As you did for the Friands, zest the lime to get the teaspoon of zest and then…

…juice it to get the tablespoon of juice.

Place the butter in a small bowl and place it in the microwave for ½ a minute or until melted.

Add to the butter, the icing sugar, lime zest and juice and stir it together until it’s nicely blended.

• It needs to be the consistency of maple syrup, if it isn’t, try adding an extra ½ a teaspoon of juice or water.

Next, lightly dust the Friands with icing sugar.

Use a small spoon to spoon the glaze over each Friand and then…

…sprinkle the shredded coconut over the tops.

These Friands are delicious enough to enjoy on their own or would be even more delightful served with a spoonful of lime curd. 🙂

Keepin’ em fresh – Keep in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 4 days. After the first day, to freshen them up a little, warm each one in the microwave for 20 seconds.

 

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