A 5A.M. Snack and Taste Test, Coconut Friands, at the local athletic club.
It’s probably true that you either like coconut, yum-yum, or dislike it intensely, yuck. If you’re in the black camp, just close this Post and take a peek next week.
Egg Whites, Coconut, Sugar, Flour, Vanilla, Salt and Melted Butter – Whisk Together.
I added the blackberries before baking the mini-cakes.
Coconut friands are light, moist teacakes, very close cousins to the financier, a small, rectangular French almond pastry. The financier, baked in a shaped mold, is somewhat more complicated to make. Friands, very popular in Australia and New Zealand now, are simpler to make and usually have additional flavorings. Chocolate. Fruit. Nuts. For this week’s FFWD recipe choice, we are making Coconut Friands.
Although the blackberry was rather large for the dainty mini-cake, it tasted delicious as a breakfast treat.
With the added cupcake liners, the friands unmold from the pan easily.
The ingredients all go together quite easily. The batter turns out thick and shiny. The most difficult part is spooning it into mini-muffin tins. I suggest using paper cupcake liners. Because I wanted to share these with my early morning exercise class, I plopped a big, fat blackberry on the batter before baking. A mini-breakfast. Enjoyed by All. Simple.
Adriana, enjoying a mini-cake before our 5:30 A.M. Spinning Class.
Dominick, our spinning instructor, to taste or not to taste. “It’s Early.”
If you wish to see how other FFWD bakers fared this week, go to http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/
A Thumbs Up for the Coconut Friands.
With thanks to the athletes at the Anthem Country Club Athletic Club, Henderson, Nevada. To be asked to taste test a tea cake as well as have a camera flash go off in your face at 5A.M. in the morning qualifies as being not only sports-minded but a good sport.
They are so pretty – and wow – I would get up for spinning at 5am if I got fed one of those!
i love the pics!! I will definitely be making a few with berries too. Yum!
I am impressed! I used to get up ealy & go to spinning & I probably should start again…the blackberries in the middle look really yummy! I always seem to overlook them in the grocery store and I don’t know why because I LOVE them.
How fun, Mary! Your friands look lovely. I made some of mine with raspberries,
but your blackberries look so good. These are a great little treat.
Mary, this is a great post with fun photos. You made your Friands with blackberries, wonderful idea, I will have to try that, once the blackberries are in season around here, which will not be for quite some time. It certainly looks like all of your taste testers loved your Friands. Lovely idea taking pictures of them!
So funny you took these to the gym…sounds like something Hubby would do. A reason to do really well in workouts. Actually I should have given more away…I love this recipe too much and coconut is a favorite so I ate way too many…well, can’t eat too many of something so good. Yours baked perfectly and I know your gym friends were so happy you share.
Your friands looks delicious especially withe the blueberries added to it. I took on Dorie’s suggestion to add fresh fruits and added cranberries…boy, it was good. The tartness of the fruit makes the coconut friands more tasty and refreshing! A keeper for sure !
How nice of you to bring these for your spin class. They look wonderful…love that you added blueberries. Nice post! Have a great weekend!
What a cute post! I love that you shared & I love your berries! Very nicely done!
Love the Mise En Place and the Pictures. I did eat one and it was good! Looks like you are becoming a baker. I’m having a vision of a Fresh French Baquette coming out of that oven!
Good Job!
My handsome Prince!
Good sports indeed, I’m not sure I would have let you take a picture of me at the gym. Then again, if you bribed me with friands…
Any way to make these a breakfast treat is a bonus for me. Good call!
LOL!! looks like you had a great response with the friands AND 5am taste testing!
It almost seems wrong to tempt everyone with a sweet treat before a spin class. But then maybe it’s just right 🙂
You are just too much…
I used to run every morning at 5AM until the kids started being on an earlier schedule. But now that they are older, I need to get back into the routine. (At least from March to November…)
I love that you started a spinning class with cake! Every time I suggest something like that at my gym, the instructor laughs at me! I’ll just have to email her this post!!
Did anyone complain about having to work harder to burn off the lovely little friands? Probably not, especially if they want you to bring more goodies! Nice photos.
Hopefully no one complained about the extra workout they would need to burn off the lovely friands! Bet they didn’t, especially since they may want more of your goodies. Nice photos.
I bet the blackberry was a delicious addition! Good for you for getting to the gym so early in the morning!
Whoa, 5:30 am spinning class – I’m tired just thinking about it! However, it is the perfect opportunity to have a little sweet that will be worked off in moments. The blackberries look great with this!
I thought my 6 am boot camp was early. I know I could never wait for a 5 am class. But what a great reward for an early morning class. You didn’t say, but I sure hope you made these the night before, not in the morning before that early class.
Yes, Betsy, I made them the night before. And, I ate 1/2 dozen of them then. Warm was yummy. But, they were moist and very delicious the next morning. That blackberry was big. Mary
It’s great to have a group to share it with and I bet they were a welcome treat so early in the morning! The blackberries look so luscious.
you are definitely a morning person. I on the other hand, am still sawing logs at that hour (oh-dark-thirty). but I might get up early for a friand (funny, auto-correct wants me to spell that friend)
These were good, weren’t they. I like your blueberry addition.
Oh I love the addition of the berries-very nice and they look delicious
SO beautiful with the blackberries! And great energy food before a workout 🙂
Love the blackberries. They look like they make it all seem so healthy!
Mary,
Your tale of the Maple Bundt Cake just cracked me up! We don’t even have air conditioning, so I would die if it was 100 degrees! I can totally picture you frosting the cake in the fridge! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I’m going to be late with the Lamb because I won’t have a chance to make it until Sat. Enjoy!