Vanilla Poached Pear Friands
Hands down one of my favourite things to make (and eat!). Super easy, quick to bake and deliciously moreish, definitely Autumn comfort food! If you have surplus seasonal pears, you can poach a few extra to serve with vanilla custard as dessert.
If you cannot be bothered with left over egg yolks (I have included a recipe for vanilla custard below), use packaged, pasteurized egg whites (available at most supermarkets, look for it in the refrigerated section). For gluten-free friands, replace the plain flour with the same weight gluten-free plain flour (or rice flour) and make sure your baking powder and icing sugar are gluten-free (in New Zealand, Edmonds® baking powder and Chelsea® icing sugar is gluten-free). Out of season, tinned pears (in juice) works well too.
Makes 9 - 12 friands
VANILLA POACHED PEARS
pears, 3 medium size - I like using Beurré Bosc pears, but you can use any variety you like
sugar, 100g (125ml or 1/2 cup)
vanilla, 1/2 pod or 15ml (1 tablespoon) vanilla bean paste
FRIAND BATTER
egg whites, 6 or 180g pasteurized egg white
unsalted butter, 180g
ground almonds/almond flour, 150g (375ml or 1 + 1/2 cup)
icing sugar, 250g (375ml or 1 + 1/2 cup)
plain/cake/all-purpose flour (or a gluten-free flour blend), 75g (125ml or 1/2 cup)
almonds (raw, flaked), to taste - about 50g
VANILLA CUSTARD / CRÈME ANGLAISE
full fat milk, 500g (500ml or 2 cups)
vanilla, ½ pod or 15ml (1 tablespoon) vanilla bean paste
egg yolks, 6
caster sugar, 50g (60ml or 1/4 cup)
To start, peel, cut in half and core the pears (a melon baller or teaspoon-sized measuring spoon works well).
Place the sugar (100g), scraped out vanilla seeds and empty pod together (or vanilla bean paste) with 500ml (2 cups) of water in a medium saucepan and place it over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the prepared pears and allow them to simmer for 10 - 15 minutes until tender (test with a sharp knife, the time needed will depend on how ripe your pears are).
Once cool enough to handle, remove the pears from the poaching liquid then roughly chop two of the poached pears.
Slice the remaining pear into 12 slivers/wedges (to top each friand).
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and grease a 12-hole oval friand pan or a muffin tin with butter.
For the friand batter, melt the butter (in the microwave or small saucepan) then allow it to cool slightly while you separate the eggs (if you are using fresh eggs).
Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl and using a hand whisk, whisk them just a little to break them up a little.
Add all the remaining friand ingredients (except for the pear and flaked almonds) and whisk by hand until the batter is smooth.
Using a spatula, fold in the chopped pear pieces.
Divide the mixture among the greased pan holes (a cookie scoop makes this job really easy to do).
I like tall friands, so I get about 9 friands from this recipe. If you prefer them dainty, you can fill 12 friand holes with batter.
Top each with a sliver/wedge of pear and sprinkle with the flaked almonds before baking until golden (approximately 20 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake part comes out clean, depending on their size).
Once baked, remove from the oven and turn the friands out of the tin and leave to cool on a wire rack or serving plate.
Dust with a little extra icing sugar before serving warm or cold.
To prepare the crème anglaise, place the milk, scraped out seeds and empty vanilla pod (or vanilla bean paste) in a large heat proof mixing bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water (making sure the surface of the water does not touch the bowl).
Meanwhile, place the caster sugar and egg yolks in a medium heat proof mixing bowl and whisk a little until uniform.
Slowly add the warmed milk mixture to the sugar and egg mixture stirring continuously until the large bowl is empty.
Pour the mixture back into the large bowl and place it back over the saucepan of simmering water.
Cook the custard over a gentle heat stirring continuously with a spatula until it thickens slightly and coats the back of the spatula (82°C on a thermometer).
As soon as it thickened (or reached 82°C), remove from the heat and pour the custard through a sieve into a jug or storage container. Serve warm or refrigerate until cool.
