Raspberry / Almond / Pistachio Friands

I haven’t baked much lately. There was a series of heat waves during summer, so I avoided turning my oven on at all cost, and then fall came and we took some time off to go on a much deserved vacation to Oahu. After we came back, it took us a while to get back into our regular routine…

However, the holidays are just around the corner and I am feeling energized again! I stumbled on Claire Ptak’s lovely friand recipe in her beautiful book The Violet Bakery Cookbook and had to try it right away. I love friands. They are packed with an intoxicating almond flavor and they are just so moist and delicious, not to forget, pretty easy to make!

If you are pressed for time during the holidays and need to impress with a dessert, these cakes are your solution: they are super tasty, easy and quick to make and the pistachio/raspberry green/red color combo couldn’t be any more christmas-y! Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top and you’ve hit gold!

I had to adapt the recipe a little bit because I did not have everything on hand, and I did not exactly follow her exact instructions. Bellow is the recipe I made, but for Claire Ptak’s original recipe, check out her book!

Raspberry / Almond / Pistachio Friands

Makes approx. 10 muffin size cakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup butter, melted, plus more to grease the mold

• 5 egg whites

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp almond extract

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 3/4 tsp baking powder

• 1 cup ground almond

• 1/2 cup ground pistachios

• 1 cup powdered sugar, plus more to sprinkle the cakes

• About 30 fresh raspberries

• 3/4 cup slivered pistachios

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven at 320 degrees.

2. Grease the mold of your choice. In this case, I used a regular muffin tin.

3. Using In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until light and fluffy.

4. Switch to a paddle attachment and add the wet ingredients (melted butter, vanilla and almond extracts). Mix at medium speed until incorporated, about 1 minute.

5. Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, ground almond and ground pistachio) and mix until incorporated, about 1 or 2 minutes.

6. Fill the muffin molds about 2/3 full with the batter.

7. Insert 2 or 3 raspberries into each mold. Be careful not to break the raspberries!

8. Sprinkle with slivered pistachios. Push them down a bit into the batter so they don’t fall out when the cakes rise.

9. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes.

10. Let the cakes rest in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

11. Sprinkle the cake with some powdered sugar.

That’s it! How easy was that?

Don’t like pistachios or raspberries? That’s fine! You can simply replace them with whatever you like: chocolate chips, another fruit like cranberries, nectarines, apple or pear, or another nut like hazelnut. Once you get the base of the recipe, you can pretty much adapt to your taste.

In this case, I find the colors of the cake very festive without being tacky. It’s simple, elegant and delicious!

Enjoy!

Mini cheesecakes with raspberry swirls

I never get tired of eating cheesecakes. They're the best. Smooth, tart, moist and rich at the same time. Pair them with any type of fruit, coulis or sauce and you've a whole new dessert each time! My favorite cheesecake recipe is an adaptation of Martha Stewart's Easter cheesecake. That cake was a revelation, and for two reasons: no Graham crackers (not a fan of those) and the lemon zest! Ground almonds replace the crackers, providing the cakes with a lighter and subtler taste, and the zests add a little more freshness to the experience. 

I never liked making full-size cakes because I find cutting them ruins the whole look of the dessert and I am way too impatient to wait for the cake to bake. It sometimes takes up to an hour! Cupcake-size cakes take much less time to bake and each serving is pretty! It's a win-win situation in my opinion.

Mini cheesecakes with raspberry swirls

Makes approx. 20 mini cakes

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup ground blanched almonds

Filling

• 4 250g cream cheese packages, room temperature

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tbsp lemon zest (approx. 1 lemon)

• 1/2 cup heavy cream

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 4 large eggs

Raspberry sauce

• 8 oz fresh or frozen raspberries

• 4 tbsp granulated sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

2. Line muffin tin with paper liners and pour 1 tablespoon ground almonds in each liner. Spread evenly.

3. Add raspberries and 4 tablespoons of sugar in a food processor and pulse until well puréed, about 1 minute.

4. Press the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Set aside.

5. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat on medium low speed the cream cheese, heavy cream and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes.

6. Add eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.

7. Add zest and vanilla and beat until incorporated.

8. Fill each prepared liner about 2/3 full with the batter.

9. Drop about 5 small dots of raspberry sauce over each cake (about 3/4 tsp total over each cake).

10. Using a toothpick, swirl raspberry sauce with cheesecake mixture. Don't over do it; a few quick swirls will do the trick.

11. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until the center of the cheesecakes don't jiggle when the pan is tapped.

12. Remove from the oven and set on a rack to cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator for about 3 hours until set.

13. If you have leftover raspberry sauce, don't throw it away! Save it in a sealed container so that you can serve it later with the cheesecakes.

 Variations

Not a fan of the ground almond crust or allergic to nuts? Not a problems! Just use the traditional graham cracker crust instead (1.5 cups of graham cracker crumbs mixed with 1/3 cup of sugar and 6 tbsp melted butter. Optional: 1/8 tsp cinnamon). I looked for alternatives because I never was a fan of graham crackers, but I do understand its appeal.

If you're looking for something different, replace the crust with Oreo cookie wafers! They add a chocolaty taste to the cakes!

If you're not a raspberry fan, do not make the swirls and bake the cakes as is. The cakes are good as they are and can be enjoyed as such. You can also pair them with any type of sauce (chocolate, caramel, condensed milk, ...), any type of coulis (strawberry, blueberry, passion fruit, ...) or any fruit of your choice! The possibilities are endless and you cannot go wrong, no matter what you go for!