Tony had baked Madeleines last time we were in France (those cute little shell-shaped, lemon flavoured cakes) and we bought some packaged ones here the other day as a quick treat. Quite yummy, individually wrapped, and I doubt that you could buy the same quality off the supermarket shelf in Australia, where I avoid buying any mass-produced cakes.
So when I saw some small cakes called Financiers that had a sprinkling of slivered almonds on top, we bought a bag of those to try, and, being made with almond meal I liked them even more than Madeleines.
So of course, then Tony had to bake his own Financiers!
And they turned out beautifully.
It was then that I realised how similar they were to Friands. According to my research they are almost the same, except that the Friands of Australia are generally flavoured with fruits whereas the traditional Financiers are not.
Of course, all recipes have their own variations, but the result to achieve with either Financiers or Friands is a crispy outer “skin” and a light fluffy inside (denser once cooled).
Fresh baked out of the oven they are steamingly delicious.
A house in France 
To me, one of the differences is the shape, as friands are baked in that special oval cake tin. Very yummy too!
As far as I can see Financiers are traditionally rectangular, but even Madeleines come in different shapes at times.