Friands

From "Simple Food" by Jill Dupeix

Makes 10

180g butter (preferably unsalted)
200g icing sugar
60g plain flour, sifted
120g ground almonds
5 large free-range egg whites
1 tsp grated lemon or orange rind
icing sugar for dusting

"The friand is a truly awsome small, moist, dense, rich, almondy cake. It's very, very French and very, very chic."

"Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Melt the butter and allow to cool, then use 1 tbsp to coat 10 muffin tin moulds."

"Sift the icing sugar and flour into a bowl, and mix in the ground almonds. Lightly beat the egg whites with a fork, then fold them into the dry ingredients. Add the cooled, melted butter and lemon rind, and mix well."

"Three-quarters fill each mould with the mixture and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the tray around, and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the tops are golden and spring back to the touch."

"Leave in the tins for 5 minutes, then gently unmould onto a wire tray and leave to cool. Dust the friands with icing sugar to serve, or store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days."


My notes:

Egg whites - Having made custard with egg yolks, or anything else, this is a great recipe to use up egg whites, as are macaroons.

Cooking times - I seem to need 10 minutes, turn around and another 10 minutes. My oven is not particularly good.

Size - You can make smaller ones in fairy cake cases or use a muffin tin for larger ones.

This gets a review from A of 9.5 out of 10 - "they would have got 10 if they were bigger".