"Friand" literally means "small mouthful," and these rich and creamy Chocolate Friands from Tartine live up to the name (scroll for recipe). These little cakes are packed with flavor and texture and are topped with a decadent ganache— it only takes a couple to satisfy your chocolate craving.

I've made these 3 times now to bring along with me to a few get togethers and they're always a crowd pleaser.

The chocolate flavor in this recipe comes from the high quality chocolate in the batter and ganache. Though it's pricier, I've been purchasing Guittard bars for all my baking needs. I swing by the baking aisle whenever I'm at the grocery store & when it's on sale I grab 3-4 boxes to fill my pantry for when the baking urge strikes.

Four Tips for Making Tartine's Chocolate Friands

1. Let them cool before un-molding

If you're using a muffin tin without liners (silicone or otherwise) make sure to let the Friands cool completely before removing them. The friands adhere better the more they cool, and I've left quite a few chocolatey bits in the molds by jumping the gun on removing them. You don't have to worry about this if you use liners, but I like the look of the free standing chocolate bites.

2. Be Generous With Your Ganache

The ganache recipe makes more than enough to top your little cakes, so be generous with it. I put my excess in a ziploc bag, snipped the tip, and piped a thin line over the cakes like in the book. It's a super easy step and added a little extra flair and finish to the cakes.

3. Use High Quality Chocolate

As I mentioned above, using good chocolate makes all the difference. Chocolate is really the star here and the better your chocolate, the better your friands will be.

4. Portion Batter With A Melon Baller

There seems to be a running joke about how useless putting a melon baller on your registry is because ... who ever uses them? Well they should call it a batter baller, because I've used mine countless times to portion out batter and it scoops the exact amount of batter for mini muffin tins and is much easier to get into the molds than finagling tablespoons.

Scroll For Recipe & Happy Baking

Chocolate Friands

Ingredients

Batter
6 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, Coarsely Chopped
1c Unsalted Butter
1.5c + 1T Sugar
3/4c All Purpose Flour
2T Cornstarch
1/4t salt
4 Large Eggs

Ganache
4oz Bittersweet Chocolate, Finely Chopped
2/3c Heavy Cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line up 24 mini-muffin-cup-paper liners on a baking sheet , or butter and flour 24 mini-muffins tin wells, knocking out the excess of flour.
To make the batter, place chocolate in a large mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until very hot. Pour the butter over the chocolate and whisk or stir until smooth. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt and mix well. Add the flour, mixture to the chocolate mixture in 3 batches, whisking well after each addition. Add 2 of the eggs and whisk until combined, and then add the remaining two eggs and whisk just until incorporate. Be careful not to over mix the batter.
Transfer the batter to a liquid measuring cup for pouring, and fill the cups three-fourths full. Bake until the cakes just start to crack on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for ten minutes on a wire rack, and then unmold them if you have baked them in the muffin tin and let cool completely. If you have baked them the paper cups, just let them cool in the cups.
To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to just under a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let seat for a minute or two. Stir gently with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
Make sure the friands are cool before dipping them into the ganache. Holding, the friand by its side, dip the top into the ganache and them shake gently to let the excess run of the side. Return the friand to the rack and let the ganache set up in a cool place for about 1 hour.
Serve the friands within a day of making or store them in a airtight container (to avoid condensation) in the refrigerator for up to five days.