Can you believe after that mammoth feast for my Mum’s birthday, consisting of Butter chicken pie with vegetables and rice, home-made trifle for dessert and a poppy seed cake for the birthday cake, that there would still be time to make, and people to eat, some lovely friands?
Well, not really… there was enough time for me to make these friands, although almost no one had enough room to fit in even a quarter of a friand.
If it weren’t for my bad timing (chosen due to the left-over egg whites from the custard in the trifle), I’m sure these would have been gobbled up by my family… alas… I was ‘forced’ to take most home – with a couple arriving with me at work with the remaining poppy seed cake.
Choc Chip friands with Cinnamon and Almonds
(adapted from Lynne Mullin’s recipe in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Living Winter + Food Magazine May 2008)
Makes: 12
6 egg whites
185g butter, melted
125g (1½ cups) almond meal
240g (2 cups) pure icing sugar, sifted
75g (heaped ½ cup) plain flour
100g coarsely chopped dark chocolate
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
25g (1/4 cup) slivered almonds, chopped
Icing sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 200°C. Whisk egg whites in a medium bowl until frothy and small peaks form. Add melted butter, almond meal and icing sugar and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Add flour, chocolate and cinnamon and combine well.
Egg White beaten until frothy and starting to form small peaks
Divide mixture evenly between a 12-mould friand tin. Sprinkle with chopped almonds and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked.
Sprinkle with chopped almonds
Rest in pan for 5-10 minutes and the carefully turn onto a cake rack or use a spoon to lift out of moulds. Cool friands and then dust with icing sugar before serving.
That’s a great way to use up your egg whites. I haven’t had a choc-chip friand, but I think it’s time to start experimenting. It’s a shame no-one had room to eat them while they were hot.
They look lovely! I’ve avoided making friands as I don’t have a proper friand tin but baking them in a cupcake one is just as cute.
These look amazing! I have a few pounds of almonds in the house that I’m trying to use up, I definitely need to try this recipe.
How sweet these are! Perfect with a cup of tea!
Hooray for friands! A great way to use up egg whites, though usually I’m the opposite, having too many yolks lying around unused.
WOW, these look truly beautiful! I love the flavor combo too – chocolate + cinnamon + almonds .. yum. 🙂
I have to try this recipe! Sounds great!
Just to set the record straight, I did manage to eat one of these yummy friands even after the huge delicious butter chicken pie, trifle and poppy seed cake. Anita is a wonder cook.
I have heard of friands but never made them. This sounds like a great recipe and a great way to use up those left over egg whites I have when I make pastry cream. They look delicious!
I made these yesterday and they are so yummy! I was really surprised at how big 100g of grated chocolate was though – almost a bowlful.
And friand batter is so yummy – so fudgy and chocolately and cinnamony! And because there are no egg yolks in it, i feel completely justified in eating it!
I made a version of these friands today and they were absolutely delicious. Sounds like your mother was well and truly spoilt!