One of the things I love most about school holidays is the welcome change of pace from a frenetic, breakneck speed to an almost leisurely meandering. Time to stop and smell the roses. Throw routine out the window and indulge in all the little things that make me happy.
Upon our return home from the Easter long weekend, there’s finally a chill in the air. Autumn has well and truly arrived. Time to bake and surprise the troops with something special for afternoon tea. Like these little pear and almond friands. So rich. So Buttery. So Chic.
Pear and Almond Friands
Makes 6
100g unsalted butter
4 large egg whites
1/3 cup plain flour
1 cup pure icing sugar
3/4,cup, almond meal
2 drops almond essence
1 tablespoon brandy or pear liqueur (optional)
2 ripe pears
freshly squeezed lemon juice
extra icing sugar, for dusting
PREHEAT oven to 190C.
GREASE and flour a six hole friand or muffin tin.
MELT butter and set aside to cool.
IN A medium bowl, whisk the egg whites with a fork until just foamy.
SIFT flour, icing sugar and almond meal together over the foamy egg whites. Add almond essence and brandy. Stir ingredients together until just combined.
LASTLY add the melted butter, stirring lightly to combine.
SPOON the batter evenly into the prepared tin.
PEEL, core and halve the pears. Slice each halve thinly. Squeeze over a little lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Insert 6-8 thin pear slices vertically into each friand.
BAKE for 25 minutes until the friands are a light golden colour and spring back lightly when pressed.
REMOVE from oven and allow to stand for five minutes before turning the friands out. Cool on a wire rack. Serve dusted with icing sugar.
The Paddington Foodie 
Lovely recipe and individual servings would help with portion control no doubt!
We were a little sad that the recipe only made six!
Very pretty and chic!
Thanks Mimi. I knew you would appreciate these.
These look lovely and elegant! I’m not familiar with friands. Are they a dense cake like an American muffin? In either case, I’d love to have a go at these. I’m wondering if I could use sliced, fresh strawberries as they are coming into season or are pears traditional?
Hi Allison
They’re soft little almond teacakes and very similar to French financiers except baked in oval muffin tins instead of little rectangular pans. Usually made with berries – fresh or frozen – so strawberries would be divine. I posted a berry version here – https://thepaddingtonfoodie.com/2013/07/30/what-to-bake-with-leftover-egg-whites-dainty-little-almond-tea-cakes-raspberry-and-lemon-friands/. I needed to up the quantity of almond meal used for the pear version in this post as the fruit was so juicy. Please try them – I know you’ll love them. They bake beautifully in a regular or mini muffin tin.
I made these on the weekend and they were perfect, thank you! The sliced pear looks so elegant and the texture was great. I didn’t have a friand tin so I made them in a regular muffin tray. That made 11.
Good to know the quantities provided go so much further in a muffin tray! Six always seem to disappear so fast. I’m tempted to make another batch.