Fascinating and French: An Almond Friand

 

Did you know that "friand" means "fond of"? Je suis friand de chocolat means I am fond of chocolate. I find the french just absolutely amazing; how they come up with such exquisite creations, one will always wonder. A friand is actually a bite-sized cake traditionally made from almond meal, butter, sugar, egg white and flour. They usually have a flavor folded through them such as assorted berries, chocolate, citrus, and other fruits. 

Today was my first time baking a friand and my second time eating a friand. The first time I ate a friand and heard about it was my cousin's strawberry friand. It had a slight tang, subtle sweetness, and nice moistness. As we made the almond friand, I noticed the beautiful consistency of the batter. When it was being baked, each individual friand rose with such elegance. Taking a bite of it was every bit as palatable and delectable. It truly is a bake to be fond of.

Almond Friand
Makes about 40 mini cupcake-sized

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (185 grams) icing sugar
1 cup (150 grams) plain flour
5 egg whites, lightly beaten
180 grams butter melted
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 packet (approx. 100 grams) almond flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Prepare a two 24 mini muffin mold non-stick baking trays.
2. Sift and combine the icing sugar, plain flour and almond meal together.
3. Mix the egg white, melted butter and vanilla essence together then add to the dry ingredients mixture and stir until just combined.
4. Spoon the mix into each mold and fill 3/4 full. Sprinkle almond flakes on top of each. 
5. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes or until the tops are browning or when a skewer is inserted, it comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tray. Enjoy (;