Raspberry Friands (Gluten free)

Friands! The 'friend' to those who are gluten intolerant. I had never made friands before now, but since my little sis had to start a Gluten free diet I decided to try and bake something tasty that she could eat. While this recipe is Gluten free, you can substitute plain flour for the gluten free flour if you are not making them for anyone who is gluten intolerant.  

These Raspberry Friands are very light and moist and make a great snack for morning or afternoon tea. To turn them into a delicious dessert, accompany them with Raspberry Coulis and Gluten Free Vanilla Bean Custard.

Gluten free Raspberry Friands with Raspberry coulis and Gluten free, vanilla bean custard

Raspberry Friands

Makes 12

8 egg whites
100g plain gluten-free flour
160g almond meal
1 cup pure icing sugar
200g unsalted butter ( melted and cooled)

200g frozen raspberries

Raspberry coulis

100g frozen raspberries

1tbs lemon juice

2tbs icing sugar

Gluten free vanilla bean custard

(this recipe makes way too much custard for the number of friands but it is a great way to use up the left over egg yolks)

8 egg yolks

80g castor sugar

¼ cup gluten free plain flour

600ml milk

1 tsp of vanilla bean paste (equivalent to one vanilla bean)

Lay frozen raspberries out on absorbent paper to thaw. Weigh out 100g to use for the raspberry coulis (if possible use the broken raspberries for this and keep the intact ones for the friands).

Melt the butter and use some to brush the friand tin thoroughly (if you don’t have a friand tin then a muffin tin will be fine). Place tin in the fridge to set the butter. Set the remaining butter to the side to cool.

 

Raspberry Coulis

 In a small saucepan, place 100g of raspberries, the lemon juice and 2tbs of icing sugar.     

 

  

Bring to a simmer over a low heat and cook until it has reduced by half.

Strain the coulis to remove seeds and set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 170 fan-forced

Whisk egg whites using an electric mixer until soft peaks (make sure you don’t over whisk)

 

Combine the flour, icing sugar and almond meal and sift over the eggwhites.

Using a large metal spoon, gently fold the dry ingredients through the egg whites, using a cutting action, until just combined.  

 

Pour in the cooled (room temperature), melted butter and gently fold through until combined.

Set aside approximately 40 raspberries and add the rest to the mixture and fold through.

Divide your mixture into 12 prepared pans and top with around 3 or 4 raspberries.

Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden and the tops feel spongy to touch

Gluten free vanilla bean custard:

Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar

Whisk in the flour and a dash of the milk to achieve a runny consistency.

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk and vanilla bean paste to a rolling boil.

Once boiling, pour the milk over the egg yolk mixture while whisking vigorously.

Pour the contents back into the saucepan and stir continuously with a spatula until it thickens.

Remove from heat immediately and pour into another bowl to stop the cooking . If not serving straight away cover with cling wrap so that it covers the surface.

 

Allow friands to stand in tin for 5 minutes, then remove by first running a knife around the edge of each friand.

 

Serve warm with custard and raspberry coulis.