Blueberry and Lemon Friands

I love these simple little cakes. I know they look quite plain, but trust me, they are absolutely delicious. The best thing about them is that they are so easy to make.

In Australia, friands are typically baked in small oval cake tins. You can of course bake these in standard muffin pan.

Now on the topic of brown butter (beurre noisette) vs melted butter. The brown butter apparently gives a nutty note to the cake. I found that it didn’t make a whole heap of difference worthwhile the effort of browning the butter. Well, that’s my opinion anyway. So melted butter for my friands it is.

Of all the different favours I have experimented with, my favourite is still the classic blueberry and lemon. When baked, the blueberries will burst and become jammy and delicious.

These little cakes are best served still warm from the oven, with the crust crisp and the centre moist and light. Having said that, they are just as wonderful after a day or two.




Blueberry and Lemon Friands

Makes about 5

100 grams icing sugar
25 grams plain flour
85 grams almond meal (ground almond)
Zest of 1 lemon
120 grams egg whites (about 3 eggs)
100 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
About 85 grams blueberries
About 1/4 cup almond flakes

Additional butter and flour for prepping the cake pan. See method below.

To make Blueberry and Lemon Friands:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius conventional (or 180 degrees celcius fan-forced).

Rub softened butter in the holes of the friand or muffin pan, and dust each hole lightly with flour. Tap the pan, upside down, over the sink to get rid of excess flour. Set aside. (Note: Don't be tempted to skip this step even if you have a non-stick pan. It not only helps to guarantee that the friands won't get stuck in the pan, the butter and flour will give a nice golden crust all over.)

Combine icing sugar, plain flour, almond meal and lemon zest in a large bowl. Set aside.

Lightly whisk egg whites in a separate bowl until they form a light foam. (Note: It's important not to over whisk the egg whites or you will rubbery friands. This step is only for breaking up the egg whites slightly so that it can be folded into the dry ingredients easier.)

Tip egg whites and cooled melted butter into the dry ingredients. Using a spatula, lightly fold the mixture together until just combined.

Divide the batter into the holes of the prepared pan up to 3/4 full. Drop about 6 blueberries in each hole. Lightly crush almond flakes with your fingers and scatter over the cake batter.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden and a skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.

Serve warm with a light dusting of icing sugar.