Fig, Tahini & Hazelnut Friands
The final recipe in my Golden Hour Collection, and perhaps one of my favourites to have with a cup of tea.
These little Fig, Tahini and Hazelnut Friands are everything I want from a late-summer bake: buttery, nutty, tender and topped with sweet, jammy figs. A little tahini adds a subtle savoury depth, while ground hazelnuts give the friands a beautifully soft crumb and chopped hazelnuts on top add a little crunch.
They're simple to make, but feel wonderfully special; the kind of bake that's made for a slow afternoon, a pot of tea and those last golden evenings of summer.
The final bake of the Golden Hour Collection
For the past six recipes, I've been celebrating late summer through baking, from juicy peaches and nectarines to pistachio, raspberries, blackberries and now figs.
The idea behind the Golden Hour Collection has always been to capture that particular feeling of the end of summer: warm light, seasonal fruit, relaxed baking and recipes that feel special without being complicated.
And for the final episode, I wanted something a little different.
These aren't a tart, crumble or brioche. Instead, they're small, tender hazelnut cakes with slices of fresh fig baked right into the top. The combination of fig, tahini and hazelnut feels incredibly late-summer to me: earthy, nutty, sweet and just a little unexpected.
What is a friand?
A friand is a small French-style cake traditionally made with ground almonds, butter, sugar and egg whites. They're known for their wonderfully moist, tender crumb and slightly crisp edges.
For this version, I've swapped the traditional almonds for ground hazelnuts and added tahini for an extra layer of nutty flavour. Fresh figs are placed on top before baking, where they soften and become beautifully jammy.
The result is somewhere between a little nut cake and a financier: rich and buttery without feeling too heavy.
Why fig, tahini and hazelnut work so well together
There's something particularly good about the combination of figs and nuts. The natural sweetness of ripe figs works beautifully with the earthy richness of hazelnuts, while tahini adds a gentle bitterness and savoury edge that stops the cakes from becoming overly sweet.
The fresh figs also bring a lovely contrast to the buttery, tender crumb, while the chopped hazelnuts on top add just the right amount of crunch.
It's a simple combination, but one that feels a little more grown-up than your usual summer cake.
How to make fig, tahini & hazelnut friands
These are wonderfully straightforward to make.
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth
Then add the eggs and tahini and mix until combined.
Fold in the ground hazelnuts, a little plain flour and baking powder to create a thick, buttery batter.
Divide the mixture between your prepared friand moulds or small cake tin, then top each one with a round of fresh fig. Finish with a scattering of chopped hazelnuts.
Bake until golden and lightly crisp around the edges, with the figs soft and jammy on top.
Allow them to cool slightly before removing from the tin.
A few tips for perfect fig friands
Choose ripe figs. Look for figs that are soft and sweet but still firm enough to slice neatly.
Use good tahini. With such a simple ingredient list, the flavour of the tahini really comes through. Choose one that's smooth and nutty rather than particularly bitter.
Don't overmix. Once you've added the flour, fold the mixture together gently until just combined for the softest crumb.
Give them time to cool. Friands are quite delicate straight from the oven, so let them sit in the tin for a few minutes before carefully turning them out.
How to serve them
I love these served slightly warm with a cup of tea or coffee. They're also lovely with a spoonful of thick Greek yoghurt, softly whipped cream or simply as they are.
And because they're small, they're perfect for an afternoon tea spread, although I wouldn't blame you for eating one straight from the cooling rack.
Fig, Tahini & Hazelnut Friands
Episode 6 of The Seasonal Bakery: Golden Hour Collection
Makes 6
Prep Time 20 mins
Bake Time 35-40 mins
Total Time 1hr
Ingredients
85g light brown sugar
90g unsalted butter, at room temperatur
2 medium free-range eggs
90g ground hazelnuts + 10g roughly chopped for sprinkling
1/2 tsp baking powder
25g plain flour, sifted
2 figs, sliced
Method
Preheat your oven to 140C and lightly grease a 6-hole round friand tin.
Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and smooth, then add the eggs and tahini, and continue to mix until well incorporated.
Carefully fold in the flour, baking powder, and ground hazelnuts.
Spoon or pipe into your prepared friand tin, being careful to only fill the holes halfway up as they’ll rise.
Add a slice of fig on top of each friand, then sprinkle over the additional chopped hazelnuts, and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and springy to touch.
Remove the friands from oven and allow to cool in the tin then turn out to cool completely.
More from the Golden Hour Collection
This recipe is Episode 6 – the final episode – of my Golden Hour Collection, a seasonal bakery series celebrating the ingredients, flavours and recipes that make summer feel so special.
Episode 1: Peach & Almond Galettes
Episode 2: Brown Butter Nectarine Crumb Cake
Episode 3: Pistachio & Raspberry Brioche Buns
