These irresistible Orange and Poppy Seed Friands are buttery, moist with loads of texture. Enjoy it with sticky orange syrup and fresh cream

Orange and Poppy Seed Friands with syrup

Friands are very popular in cafes all around Australia and New Zealand. So much that, finding a friand baking tin is as easy as finding a muffin tin!

A friand tin is similar to muffin tins, they have 12 holes and hold approximately the same capacity but they are oval, not round. This is what makes friand quite distinguishable, they’re small oval-shaped butter almond cakes.

A good friand won’t disappoint you, they are every bit as delicious as they look!

I can honestly say that these Orange and Poppy Seed Friands are cafe-like in quality and taste! On that note, you better leave the room so my inflated head can fit.

So if you are a fan of citrus sweets and love the texture of poppy seeds and almond meal then this cake is a must for you!

These friands have a thin crusty outer layer with a buttery cake inside that is filled with loads of poppy seeds and orange flavoured goodness. Top it with luscious orange syrup and a generous dollop of whipped cream and you’ll be swearing that you’ve died and gone to heaven!

These little cakes are so impressive that I would happily serve them to my guests for dessert. They can serve it warm or at room temperature, so it can be made in advance.

This means you can bake them to bring to your next Zoom business meeting and say ‘Oh look I baked some yummy cafe-quality friand to share with everyone….., BUT oh silly me I forgot it was a virtual meeting’. Don’t forget to hold the best-looking friand close to the camera and laugh obnoxiously. Trust me, you’ll be forever popular with your colleagues after this!

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Fried ends? Friends? no FRIANDS DAMMIT!

After making a fresh batch of my Orange and Poppy Seed Friands, I popped one on a plate with a spoonful of syrup and cream. Admiring my own work, I beamed proudly as the friand looked absolutely gorgeous.

With excitement, I handed the plate over to my husband Tomasi. ‘Wow it looks beautiful’ he said with a massive grin ‘What is it?‘

‘Orange and poppy seed friand’

‘What fried ends?’ he quizzed looking confused.

‘No, friands!’

‘Huh, did you say friends?‘

‘No friands! It’s French…….I think!’

‘Oh right, no wonder I couldn’t understand you, if it’s French you must have mispronounced it. Just do yourself a favour and call it a muffin.’

And that was when I imagined myself throwing my beautiful friand in Tomasi’s face, CHEERS TO BEING HAPPILY MARRIED!

So what is a Friand?

Well, it definitely isn’t a muffin Tomasi! Muffins are airy, light and fluffy so it’s pretty much the opposite of a friand. Speaking of muffins if you want to munch on some scrumptious ones why not make my Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins 

Friands are made with butter, eggs and almond meal (ground almonds) so as you would expect it’s dense, moist and cake-like in texture and taste. They are very similar to ‘Financier’ a small French almond cake that’s baked in rectangle moulds to resemble gold bars.

The traditional financier is made with no additional topping or fillings such as fruits or nuts, whereas with friands you’ll find many different varieties.

Baking friands require a little more work than whipping up a muffin, but in saying that it’s not difficult to make if you have a hand or stand mixer.

Ingredients for Orange and Poppy Seed Friands

For the Friand:

To help the batter combine better, make sure to use room temperature butter, milk and eggs.

Plain flour is also known as ‘all-purpose’ flour, it has no leavening agent added.

Eggs – I used large eggs that weighed around 58gms (2.05 oz) each

Caster sugar is also known as ‘superfine sugar’ or ‘baker’s sugar’. It has a finer consistency than white or granulated sugar but it isn’t the same as powdered sugar (also known as confectionary or icing sugar)

Oranges – I used medium-sized ‘Navel’ oranges but any variety of oranges can be used. You’ll only need a 1/4 cup of juice but need the zest from both oranges. The zest is the thin coloured part of the orange, it needs to be finely grated to avoid any bitterness from the underlying white parts of the peel.

Milk – I used full-fat (whole milk) but light or skimmed can be used.

For the orange syrup:

The ingredients for the syrup is straight forward, you’ll need the juice and zest from one medium-sized orange.

How to make Orange and Poppy Seed Friands

Step by step guide with photos

In a small bowl soak the poppy seeds with the milk for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven at 180°C (356°F) or for fan-forced 160°C (320°F).

Grease the tins base and sides with melted butter. Line the base of the friand tin by folding non-stick baking paper in several layers and cutting oval shapes, fit it to the bottom of the tin holes.

Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and zest together until the mixture is fluffy and pale (approximately for 5 minutes on high speed)

Add in the eggs but one at a time beating well in between each egg.

Pour in orange juice, milk and poppy seed mixture. Mix to combine using a spatular or wooden spoon. Add in the almond meal, flour, baking powder and salt, fold until the flour is no longer visible.

Scoop 1/4 cup of batter into each tin hole, once all holes are filled tap the tray on the table a few times or use a butter knife to flatten the batter. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted.

Leave to cool in the baking tin for 10 minutes. Run a sharp thin knife around the top edges of the cake to help release it. Tip the cakes out of the tin onto a plate or a chopping board.

For the orange syrup:

In a small saucepan add in water, sugar, salt and vanilla extract and bring it to a boil on medium heat stirring occasionally. Lower the heat and add in orange juice and zest. Let it simmer for 5 minutes, it will thicken to a syrup consistency once the mixture cools down.

Whilst the cake is still warm, use a skewer to poke several holes in the cake. Spoon the syrup on top of the friands, keep any remaining syrup in a small bowl to serve with cream.

Leftovers will keep up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container or 5 days in the fridge. The friands can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Cooking measurements are in Australian standard spoon and cup measurements.

A Third-Party Application calculated the calories and nutritional information. Please use this as an approximate guide only.

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Cheers (I’ll drink to that) – Cat Tre