Strawberry Friands

January 25, 2007

When I was growing up, the art of the afternoon tea was alive and well. I can remember  arriving home from school to find my mother and her friends sipping tea from the rose covered Royal Albert tea cups and choosing from the delectable assortment of biscuits and cakes Mum had baked that morning. My little sister would be engaged in battle behind the couch with another bored pre-schooler and I would be enlisted to entertain the little ones while the ladies talked on – and on.

When my sons were small the afternoon tea had been replaced by morning coffee and I don’t recall baking much for those gatherings because everyone always seemed to be on a diet.

Recently, however, an assortment of cousins called by to see my mother who was staying with me and there I was in the kitchen pondering what to make for afternoon tea.

Friands make a change from the ubiquitous muffins. They have an interesting texture and fresh strawberries tucked into the batter before cooking provide a good burst of flavour. Four generations of us made short work of these tasty offerings.

Strawberry Friands

180g butter
200g icing sugar
50g plain flour
pinch salt
130g ground almonds
5 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6-12 ripe strawberries, hulled and quartered

Melt the butter (a quick burst in the microwave works well) then set it aside to cool to room temperature.

Sift the icing sugar and flour into a large bowl with the salt then add the ground almonds. Stir in the unbeaten egg whites and then fold in the cooled butter and the vanilla.

Spoon some of the batter into friand moulds.  Push three or four strawberry chunks into each mould then top with the remaining batter.

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