Financiers, friands and madeleines: much-loved little cakes

Big is not always better, as friands, financiers and madeleines make clear! These buttery little cakes are all delicious morsels consumed in a few bites – but if you’ve ever wondered what the differences are, read on (and find some excellent recipes to try, too – including what Adam Liaw describes as the best he’s ever tried, a recipe shared by Lune Croissanterie’s Kate Reid on The Cook Up!).

Financier or friand?

Think of these as little cake-cousins, one hailing from France and the other more popular in Australia and New Zealand.

The financier is often baked in small rectangular cake moulds, said to resemble bars of gold - a link to the Parisian financial district. The financier as we know it was made popular in the 19^th century by a baker whose shop was near what was then the Parisian stock market. His financiers were based on little almond cakes called visitandines, which had been made for centuries by French nuns.

Appropriately, financiers are rich little cakes make with almond meal and butter. Part of the secret to their texture is the use of whipped egg whites. A mixture of almond meal, flour and sugar is stirred in, then melted butter (usually buerre noisette – browned butter) is folded in. The batter is usually cooked in a rectangular mould (you’ll see both bar-shaped and shallower, wider rectangular versions). The result is a soft, dense cake with slightly crisp edges and a rich, slightly nutty flavour from the almond meal and the browned butter.

The nutty nature of the friand gets a boost in this peanut friand recipe.

The friand is the version that you’ll often see in Australia. Also made with egg whites, almond meal and melted butter, our friands have a similar texture to financiers, although there are a two main differences. You’ll usually see them made in oval-shaped moulds, creating a cake that’s taller than a typical financier, and they are often studded with fruit, such as raspberries, blueberries or cherries. In France, a friand (a “delicious thing”) is more commonly a savoury pastry, although friandise means a sweet delicacy, or something dainty.

The division between financier and friand is far from absolute; you’ll see cakes called financiers that are made in oval moulds and studded with fruit, and friands made in rectangular moulds (like the peanut version above). In fact, no matter what you call them, you can play with the shape – such as Anneka Manning’s financiers recipe, which makes delightful cherry-studded cakes in little brioche moulds (pictured below).

Kate Reid’s recipe for lemon zest and raspberry friands, shared on The Cook Up with Adam Liaw, is another excellent of how good these little almond cakes are. Adam Liaw declared them “C'est le meilleur financier j'aie mangé de ma vie” – the best financier he’s eaten in his life! (And for those who need to bake or eat gluten-free, Reid notes that you can change the plain flour in the recipe for gluten-free plain flour.)

Madeleines

Madeleines are also French (traditionally associated with the town of Commercy in the Lorraine region), but distinctly different to financiers. Made with whole eggs, and usually without nuts, they are traditionally baked in a shell-shaped mould. The way they are made creates a lighter, spongier texture. These little cakes are often flavoured with lemon, honey or vanilla. Like financiers, they are often made with browned butter, but you’ll see plenty of recipes that just use melted butter, too.

Guillaume Brahimi’s recipe is flavoured with vanilla bean, lemon and beurre noisette.

Their lighter texture can mean these are a little trickier to get out of their moults. Preparing the mould correctly will give you a clean release and even crust – try these tips from Hyoju Park and Rong Yao Soh of Melbourne’s Madeleine de Proust.

For a simple but delicious addition, try adding a citrus glaze - Sarah Rich, who shared her recipe for orange-glazed madeleines (pictured below), says they are even better the day after baking.

You can also get creative with the shape and flavour of madeleines. Try filling them with lemon curd (madeleines à la crème au citron), or making them in wonderful shapes including bananas (try these gluten-free chocolate banana madeleines) and ginger bears (filled with spiced genache and covered in caramelised white chocolate shells, although also delicious just baked and served in any shape). Find tips on filling madeleines here.

None of the three, but also delicious

Finally, if you have almond meal left over after making any of the recipes above, you might like to continue your 'little almond meal cake' adventures these mini chocolate almond meal tortes.

 Or these almond honeycomb cupcakes.

And of course, if you want to think big, never forget one of SBS Food's most enduringly popular recipes, the orange and almond cake.