Black Forest Friands

Popular in Australia and New Zealand and related to the French financier, friands are made with ground almonds and leavened with egg whites. The tender and moist cake base is the perfect canvas to put your spin on, like incorporating the rich flavours of dark chocolate, cherries and kirsch — the cornerstones of Black Forest cake.

Chi’s Black Forest Friands helped earn them the title of Star Baker during Cake Week in Season 6 of The Great Canadian Baking Show.

Black Forest Friands 

By Chi Nguyễn

Ingredients

Cherry Sauce:

• 2 cups (280 g) frozen cherries
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 1½ tsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp kirsch

Friands:

• 1⅔ cup (200 g) ground almonds
• 1⅓ cup (195 g) all-purpose flour
• ⅓ cup (30 g) black cocoa
• 1 tsp espresso powder
• 2⅓ cups (260 g) icing sugar
• ¾ cup plus 1 tbsp (180 g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1½ cup (275 g) Amarena cherries or kirsch-soaked sour cherries, roughly chopped
• 4 tsp Amarena cherry juice or kirsch
• 5 egg whites, room temperature

Whipped Cream:

• ½ tsp powdered gelatin
• 1 tsp cold water
• ½ cup 35% cream
• 2 tsp icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp Amarena cherry juice or kirsch

Chocolate-Dipped Cherries:

• ¾ cup (125 g) dark chocolate, finely chopped, divided
• 12 bourbon- or whisky-soaked cherries, with stem, patted dry
• Luster dust
• Vodka

Chocolate Ganache:

• 1½ cup (250 g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
• ¾ cup 35% cream

Preparation

Cherry Sauce:

Combine the cherries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to thicken, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the water and cornstarch. Add it to the cherry mixture and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the kirsch.

Friands:

Heat oven to 400 F. Coat a muffin tin or mini-Bundt pan with cooking spray.

Pulse together the ground almonds, flour, black cocoa and espresso powder in the bowl of a food processor. 

Add the icing sugar and pulse to combine, then transfer to a large bowl. Add the butter, cherries and cherry juice or kirsch to the flour mixture. Whisk the egg whites until foamy, then add them to the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Portion the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the friands from the pan and transfer them to a rack to cool completely. 

Whipped Cream:

Add the water to a small bowl, then sprinkle the gelatin overtop and stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Using a hand mixer, whisk the cream until it starts to foam. Add the icing sugar, vanilla and cherry juice or kirsch and continue whipping until very soft peaks form. Then heat the gelatin in a microwave or small saucepan until just melted.

Add a small amount of the whipped cream to the gelatin and stir. Then add the gelatin mix to the remaining whipped cream and beat until stiff peaks form.Transfer the whipping cream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Place the piping bag in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. 

Chocolate-Dipped Cherries:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the chocolate in a bowl, and microwave it on high in 30-second intervals — stirring in between — until fully melted and the temperature reaches between 88 F to 92 F.

Alternatively, you can temper the chocolate in a bowl set over a pot of simmering water.

Dip the cherries in the chocolate, all the way to the stem. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet to set. When firm, mix a small amount of luster dust with vodka and use a paintbrush to coat the cherries with it.

Chocolate Ganache:

Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a medium saucepan, just until steaming. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 3 minutes. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool slightly. It will be thickened but not set. Transfer the ganache to a piping bag and snip off the end.

Assembly:

If using a muffin tin, take a paring knife or melon baller and remove a bit of the centre of each friand, about 1 inch in diameter. 

Pipe the chocolate ganache into the middle, almost to the top of the cake, and allow it to set for 5 minutes. Pipe the whipped cream in a circle around the edge of the ganache and fill the centre with some cherry sauce. Then top with a chocolate-dipped cherry and serve. 

Makes 12 friands