Many years ago, I did a couple of weeks of voluntary work in southern Spain and stayed with a team leader in her home. Every morning, we popped down to the local bakery for fresh bread for breakfast (yum), and it wasn’t long before the group of us staying there discovered our host’s big jar of Nutella and began smearing it onto our bread in far too large quantities. Before long, the Nutella was all gone and we hastily and guiltily ran to the shops to replace it … and then gobbled up that jar as well. Until then I’m not sure I’d ever really thought to eat chocolate spread with bread. The few times I’d had it at home in England I’d just eaten it right off the spoon.
Another place where Nutella seems to be pretty popular is France, where I once spent a year teaching English to school children. Yes, in the land of champagne, foie gras and truffles, it’s also perfectly acceptable to eat humble hazelnut chocolate spread smeared thickly onto a piece of freshly baked bread or stuffed into a warm buttery croissant.
So if it’s okay for the mostly healthy Spanish and French to put chocolate spread on and in baked things, then surely it’s okay for me to do the same. Besides, I took another tip from the French for these little Nutella-stuffed apricot friands of mine.
I made them small!
Let me explain. Apparently, part of the reason that the French are able to eat fatty cheeses and rich pastries and pretty much what they like without getting unhealthy or overweight is pretty simple – they just eat less. Well, plus a few other little tricks. They’ll have a piece of chocolate or a tiny little macaron or a balanced meal but not piled up high on a plate.
If anyone is interested in finding out more about how the French eat really well without depriving themselves and yet stay ‘magically’ healthy (I for one certainly am!) then apparently this is a pretty good read: French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano. Great book title, right?
Oh, and if you would like to read more about all the lovely things that you can eat without feeling guilty, it seems, ‘en France’, the lovely Erin from The Law Student’s Wife is over there right now posting about all sorts of delicacies that will make you want to drop what you’re doing and get yourself booked onto a flight to Paris tout de suite.
Meanwhile, back to these cute little friands. Obviously you’ve figured out by now that there is Nutella in this recipe I’m about to share with you today. And no, this is not a sponsored post for Mr. Nutella (although I think it should be, don’t you?) Other than this slightly naughty sweet stuffing, though, there is absolutely nothing bad in these mini muffins. Honestly, nothing bad at all. Nada. Rien.
‘So what is in them?’ I hear you wondering. Well, apart from a teaspoon of baking powder and a splodge of Nutella, just five ingredients, that’s what. Just almond meal, coconut oil, honey, eggs and dried apricots.
As they are so tiny, maybe it hardly matters that they are so healthy, but as they are, well … bonus! It just means that you can eat two or three at a time if you like, although in my humble opinion the size is just about right as the almond meal makes them seem a little richer than a regular muffin (I used a pan a little like this one but if you can find a mini friand pan, then even better!) A friand, in fact, is basically just a French version of a muffin made with almonds. My versions are not strictly speaking friands though as they contain whole eggs rather than just the whites and coconut oil instead of butter. I also missed out the sugar that is usually in friands, replacing it with a bit of honey, as I figure that they’re sweet enough from the apricots and the chocolate in the middle.
Just to tie up this post, I thought I’d share this little morsel of info that I found. There was a fairly recent ‘scandal’ at Colombia University, New York, in which students gobbled up $2,500 worth of Nutella in a week! Apparently this quickly dropped to $450 a week, but, erm, hello? Obviously this beats mine and my team mates’ gobbling up of our host’s choccy spread in Spain all those years ago in a pretty big way!
Anyway, enough of all this free promotion for Nutella. Obviously I highly recommend you having a go at these little mini friands. Just make sure you aren’t too light-handed with the nutella in the middle. It won’t matter if it oozes out of the cake a little – they’ll just be all the more delicious, I’d say.
Little Nutella-stuffed apricot friands (gluten free)
Ingredients (UK/Australia? Click below for grams/ml)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal sometimes called almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder gluten free if necessary
- 2 eggs lightly whisked
- 2 1/2 ounces dried apricots chopped into small pieces
- 15 teaspoons chocolate spread 1 for each little friand
- a little icing sugar for sprinkling at the end optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 325F/170C and lightly grease a mini muffin pan
or mini friand pan with a little oil or butter. - Melt the coconut oil and the honey together in a small pan. Put the mixture aside to cool a little.
- Put the almond meal into a large bowl with the baking powder, then mix in the coconut oil/honey mixture and the eggs. Stir in the apricots.
- Put about a teaspoon of mixture into the bottom of each hole in the muffin tin, then spoon a small teaspoon of chocolate spread in the centre. Then spoon in more almond mixture so that it covers the chocolate and the muffin holes are almost full of mixture.
- Bake for about 12 minutes or until the muffins are a light golden colour on the top. Try not to overbake!
- Leave the friands to cool then, if you like, sprinkle them with icing sugar.
or 
with a little oil or butter.
Notes
Nutrition
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Isadora @ she likes food says
I didn’t discover nutella until my sister went to France for a year as a foreign exchange student and when she came backs he told me all about it! Needless to say, I’ve been obsessed with it ever since! I think I need to practice more French philosophies and start eating smaller portions, haha! Sometimes it is so hard to limit myself and I think if I made these amazing friands, I would probably eat the entire pan! The nutella and apricot combo sounds divine!
Helen says
Well, what I didn’t tell you is that I did eat rather a lot of these all in one go. My ‘excuse’ was that the only ‘bad’ thing in them was nutella .. and let’s face it, that isn’t all that bad, either (it’s got hazelnuts in for goodness sake!) Glad you like them, Isadora!
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry says
I am desperate to make friands after eating them in South Africa. One of these days H. One of these days.
Helen says
Well, they’re really easy to make. Mine were definitely a ‘healthified’ version, which were nice, but I’d also like to try making the naughtier version some day! 😉
Melanie @ Bon Appét'Eat says
OMG, this looks like heaven in a bite! I would take this for dessert please!
Helen says
Haha … thanks, Melanie! 🙂
Tandy | Lavender and Lime says
I think I would eat all of these in one go! They look perfect 🙂
Helen says
Thank you, Tandy! I certainly ate quite a few in one sitting! 🙂
Alessandra // the foodie teen says
All I have to say: YUM YUM YUM! I love friands!
Helen says
Thanks, Alessandra! And thanks for visiting the blog. 🙂
Olivia - Primavera Kitchen says
OMG… This is genius!! I am drooling, Helen!!!
Helen says
Thanks, Olivia. Happy to have impressed you!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
What a great recipe, Helen! This little beauties looks delicious, especially with nutella! I love that you used apricots, definitely a fruit that flies under the radar!
Helen says
Thanks, Gayle. You’re right about dried apricots. I don’t see them used that often, but they’re lovely.
Liz says
I adore apricots…so your friands look MOST tempting!!!
Helen says
Glad to hear it, Liz! 🙂
Jessica @ Sweet Menu says
I just love nutella, this recipe is right up my alley!
Helen says
Glad you like it, Jessica! 🙂
lori @TheHealthMinded.com says
Brilliant recipe. Easy, few ingredients and all ones I love! I have a dessert I make with almond meal that is delicious as well. I do not see it used that often. Pinning to my Gluten-Free Pin board right now! Thanks!
Helen says
Aw, thanks, Lori! I take all that as a huge compliment! Thanks for pinning, too 🙂
marcie says
It’s so true about the French — they eat in moderation. I’ve heard about that book, but I haven’t read it yet. I should! As for Nutella, I first tried it only last year and that was me, eating it right out of the spoon. I enjoy it in recipes a lot, and these friends with apricot, no less, look so delicious, Helen! These are a must-try. 🙂
Helen says
Glad you like these, Marcie. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I haven’t read that book yet, either. I just thought it fit in really well here. 😉
Annie @Maebells says
Yumm!! I think apricots are a very under used fruit! I rarely see them used, but they are delicious! This is such a good idea!
Helen says
Totally agreed. Thanks, Annie!
Shashi @ runninsrilankan says
Thanks so much for introducing me to “friands” – I had never heard of them before. These are too cute – love the almond meal/apricot/chocolate combo, Helen.
Helen says
Aw, you’re welcome! Well, you introduce me to new things all the time so I’m glad to be able to return the favour. 🙂
Samina | The Cupcake Confession says
hahaha I remember getting my first Nutella jar and it was over the next morning! That stuff can be addictive! These friands look DELISHHHHH Helen! <3 I have GOT TO READ that book because I just can't manage to keep my weight in check and I most certainly cannot give up on eating beautiful food! I need to make these friands stat! I'll add an extra tbsp of nutella, just for good measure!! hahaha
Helen says
It’s definitely an attractive prospect, isn’t it, being able to eat what you like and still stay pretty healthy? The good old French! Glad you like the friands, Samina. Do have a go at making them – they’re great little healthy snacks!
Ashley says
Ohhhh nutella! haha I can’t buy it because I cannot be trusted around it! It’s been a few months since I’ve bought a jar : )
These sound awesome – I mean stuffed with nutella? You just cannot go wrong!
Helen says
I agree. I think stuffing pretty much anything with nutella would probably make it palatable! The jar I bought to make these cakes was the first jar I’d bought in ages and I think I’m doing pretty well because there is still about half left. Not too bad, hey!
Aimee / WallflowerGirl.co.uk says
Wow, this is so my kind of recipe Helen! Love that it’s flourless and the nutella centres are just drool-worthy…
Helen says
Hehe … yeah, I finally got on the super healthy band-wagon! I was surprised by how tasty these were for something so healthy, but I couldn’t resist ‘ruining’ it with the nutella.