Macadamia Friands
Makes 10 friands
140g unsalted butter
160g unsalted macadamia halves
200g pure icing sugar
65g plain flour, sifted
5 egg whites
Citrus Syrup:
Juice of 2 limes, strained
100g caster sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Grease 10 friand or 80ml muffin pans with butter.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan and simmer gently until it deepens in colour. Remove from heat and leave to cool for five minutes.
4. Grind the nuts and icing sugar together in a blender and place in a mixing bowl. Stir through the flour.
5. Stir in the egg whites (don’t beat them) and mix to make a soft batter. Pour the melted butter through a fine sieve into the batter and mix thoroughly.
6. Spoon the mixture into the tins to fill about three-quarters full. Lower oven temperature to 180C and bake for 20-25 minutes, covering the cakes if they get too brown.
7. Turn the oven off and leave the friands inside for five minutes. Cool slightly in the tin and then turn onto a rack. Brush each friand with warm syrup making sure you brush into the crevices. When cool, store in an airtight tin.
8. For the Syrup: Combine the lime juice and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring until dissolved. Oranges or lemons can be substituted for the limes.