Blueberry and almond friands

Another week, another wedding cake commission!  This time, I’m making one wedding cake and 80 heart shaped little cakes, for my friend Sarah who I used to work with.  She’s getting married in Caerphilly Castle, in an amazing medieval banquet hall – so I suggested we keep the cakes quite simple and rustic, to fit with the theme and surroundings.  Having made friands before and every time they’ve been such a hit, I decided to make four types – the blackberry and almond kind I’ve made and loved previously, plus some almond and blueberries, as in the recipe below.  I also experimented with different nuts, making pistachio and raspberry friands and some hazelnut and strawberry ones.

Ingredients 

9 egg whites
9 oz butter, melted
12 oz icing sugar
6 oz plain flour

7 ½ oz ground almonds
7 oz blueberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190°C and grease 24 heart shaped muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until light and fluffy.
3. Add the butter to the egg whites, and sift in the icing sugar, flour and ground almonds. 
4. Fold together with a metal spoon until just combined.
5. Divide the mixture into the muffin tins and top each with a few blueberries.
6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.