Apple Friands with Ricotta

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Theseย Apple Friandsย are deliciously soft and light, filled with lemony ricotta and caramelised cinnamon apples. These little cakes are moist, packed with flavour and an absolute treat.

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A friand recipe is ideal if you have leftover egg whites. Simply by whisking them into soft peaks and folding them into almond meal, icing sugar and melted butter you will achieve soft, tender little cakes which are perfect for afternoon tea.

Friands (also known as Financiers) originate from France but are also popular in Australia and New Zealand. They are usually a quick and easy recipe. This one takes a little time as there are an extra couple of steps involved in caramelising the apple pieces and mixing up the lemon ricotta. However, it is totally worth it as the creamy ricotta pairs perfectly with the buttery apple topping, making this a very simple bake but one that feels luxurious and delicate.

Some Apple Cinnamon Ricotta Friands sitting on a wire rack next to a bowl of caramelised apples

Why you'll love this recipe

  • These apple friands are extra special from the teaspoonful ofย lemony sweetened ricottaย which is dropped into the finished friand batter.
  • The garnishing ofย cinnamon spiked buttery apple piecesย which are placed on top just before they go into the oven which caramelise into apple heaven.ย 
  • You can make this recipe in either a special friand pan or just muffin tins.
  • This is a gluten-free friand recipe that works with any brand of gluten-free flour (plain flour also works) and needs no xanthan gum.

Gluten-free friands

Making gluten-free friands is an easy switch. Simply swap the plain flour for any brand of all-purpose gluten-free flour. This recipe has been tested with Doves Plain White Gluten-Free Flour and also my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend to great success and with no need for extra xanthan gum. This easy switch works because there is so little flour in the recipe, most of the work for the structure and texture of these little cakes are done by the ground almonds. The flour is simply included for lightening up the proceedings.

Ingredients needed

  • Apples. This recipe works beautifully with granny smiths or even a bramley apple
  • Butter. Unsalted is the best choice here. Make sure it is at room temperature.
  • Icing sugar.ย (powdered sugar).
  • Ricotta. The ricotta stuffed into this apple friand gives an exceptional taste and lovely texture.
  • Lemon. Used to flavour the ricotta stuffing. Make sure it is unwaxed and organic otherwise you need to scrub off the wax.
  • Vanilla extract. Use a good quality extract, I like Nilsen Massey.
  • Ground almonds. Almond meal works well too, but the results may be a little more nutty in texture. See this article for the difference >>> The Ultimate Guide to Nut flours.ย 
  • All-purpose gluten-free flour. Your favourite brand will work well here. This recipe has been tested with Doves and with my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
  • Egg whites.ย This recipe uses the whites from 6 medium eggs which is 180g.
  • Spices. Ground cinnamon and nutmeg are used to beautifully flavour these apple friands.
  • Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.
A halved Apple Cinnamon Ricotta Friand sitting on a wire rack next to a bowl of caramelised apples

How to make apple friands

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.ย 

  1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add icing sugar, cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice. Add apple pieces and fry for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
  2. In a small bowl, mix ricotta, vanilla, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon icing sugar until smooth. Set aside.
  3. Preheat oven to 180ยฐC/160ยฐC fan/gas mark 4/350ยฐF. Butter a 12-hole friand tin or muffin pan.
  4. In a large bowl mix ground almonds, gluten-free flour, icing sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites for 25-30 seconds with an electric whisk or by hand until light and foamy.
  6. Fold egg whites into the almond mixture along with melted butter.
  7. Divide batter between friand moulds, top with a spoonful of ricotta mixture, and add a few apple pieces to the tops of the friands.
  8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, then remove from the oven. Let cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  9. Dust with icing sugar.

FAQs

Equipment required

I love this heavy duty friand tin as it turns out theses little gluten-free apple almond cakes beautifully and is the one I use all the time in my kitchen.

How to store

Friands store very well at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container.

How to freeze

You can freeze these gluten-free friands by flash freezing them in a single layer on a baking tray for 8 hours. Once frozen transfer them all to a ziplock bag. You can then defrost one at a time. Allow to defrost completely at room temperature before serving.

Make this recipe dairy-free

To make dairy-free friands then skip the ricotta filling. The swap the butter in the rest of the recipe for melted coconut oil.

More friand recipes

Have you tried this Apple Friand Recipe?ย Please leave a 5 starย  ⭐️ย ⭐️ย ⭐️ย ⭐️ย ⭐️ย  rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨

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Apple Friands with Ricotta

Theseย Apple Friandsย are deliciously soft and light, filled with lemony ricotta and caramelised cinnamon apples. These little cakes are light, moist, packed with flavour and an absolute treat.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Servings 12
Calories 377 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Caramelised apples

  • 3 apples - peeled, cored and diced
  • 2 tablespoons butter - unsalted
  • 1 tablespoon icing sugar - powdered sugar
  • ยฝ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • squeeze of lemon juice

Ricotta stuffing

  • 160 g ricotta
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon icing sugar

Friands

  • 240 g icing sugar - powdered sugar
  • 160 g ground almonds
  • 100 g gluten-free flour
  • ยฝ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ยผ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ยฝ teaspoon salt
  • 200 g butter - unsalted, melted, cooled
  • 180 g egg whites - about 6 medium sized

Instructions
 

Caramelised apples

  1. Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan then add the icing sugar, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice and tip in the apple pieces.
  2. Fry for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat just before the apples turn soft and leave to cool.

Ricotta stuffing

  1. Mix the ricotta with the vanilla, lemon zest and 1 tablespoon icing sugar in a small bowl until smooth and set aside.

Friands

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180ยฐC / 160ยฐC fan assisted oven / gas mark 4 and butter a 12 hole friand tin (or muffin tin).
  2. Mix the ground almonds with the flour, icing sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together in a separate bowl.
  3. Whisk egg whites in another bowl until light and foamy.
  4. Fold the egg whites into the almonds followed by the cooled melted butter.
  5. Divide the batter between the friand moulds, then top with a spoonful of ricotta mixture. Finally add a few apple pieces to the top of each one.
  6. Bake for 25 minutes. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then turn out and finish cooling on a wire rack.
  7. Dust with icing sugar.

Notes

Apples. Granny smiths are a lovely apple to use for this recipe as they hold together well. Bramley apples also work too.
Flour. This recipe was tested using Doves Farm Plain White Gluten-Free Flour. However, you can use your favourite brand. You could also use my DIY Gluten-Free Flour Mix.

How to freeze

You can freeze these gluten-free friands by flash freezing them in a single layer on a baking tray for 8 hours. Once frozen transfer them all to a ziplock bag. You can then defrost one at a time. Allow to defrost completely at room temperature before serving.

Ingredient measurements

Please note that the US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results.
READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cupsย 

Nutrition Information

Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionistโ€™s advice for further clarification.
The nutrition serving is for 1 friand.ย 

Nutrition

Calories: 377kcalCarbohydrates: 37gProtein: 7gFat: 24gSaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 270mgPotassium: 91mgFiber: 3gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 560IUVitamin C: 2.1mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 0.9mg
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10 Comments

  1. Hi Georgina,
    Just wondering if you can please help with this recipe. In the ingredients list you have 2 teasp cinnamon & 1/4 teasp nutmeg. For the batter you say to add 1/2 teasp of cinnamon & no mention of when to add the nutmeg. Just wondering firstly if the cinnamon amount is just a typo & if the nutmeg goes into the batter?
    Just want to clarify, your help would be greatly appreciated
    Thanks & kind regards
    Bernie

    1. Apologies that it took me a couple of days to reply but it had been a while since I made this recipe so I have re-tested it and the 1/2 teaspoon is correct despite the 2 teaspoons in the ingredients list. This has now been amended and I have included the nutmeg. I also have clarified the instructions to make it all read a lot easier. I hope this helped and thank you for your query.

  2. I live in the US and we don't have Dove's GF Flour here. I just looked it up and all I can find is a self-raising flour blend. Just want to clarify before I make these (they look amazing!!!!), do you use self-raising flour or a flour without leavenings?
    Thanks so much! Can't wait to give these a go (and sub another gf flour blend from the US).
    Maureen

    1. Hi Maureen, no I don't use self-raising flour as I like to control the raising agents myself. The recipe is quite forgiving in that you can use any gf flour blend in place of the Doves Farm, so you should be quite safe in picking an alternative blend, as long as it doesn't have raising agents or xanthan gum in it.