Originally made in a pastry shop near la Bourse, the financial district of Paris, friands — or financiers, as they are often called — are the same shape as gold bars (the moulds are traditionally rectangular). Perhaps the confusion has come about from the word ‘friandise’, which is a general French word for ‘petits fours’. Whatever you choose to call them, we have all taken to these little almond cakes.
In Australia, friand moulds are oval, 1/2 cup in capacity and deeper than most other small cake tins.