:: Friendly Friands ::

Friands of Love

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: valentine's day raspberry friands ::

It was February in 2009 that I first made these Friands inspired by Donna Hay’s Classics Cookbook 2. It was the time of the devastating bushfires in Victoria & one of them threatened my hometown of Myrtleford in the Alpine Shire. Many of my friends & loved ones were on high alert. All of them were fighting – fighting the fire in the Country Fire Authority (CFA), fighting for their homes & fighting for the town that I know & love. I felt so helpless being so far away. What could I do? I decided to hold a bake sale to raise money for the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal who had a bushfire appeal. I took a selection of baked treats to both my work and my husband’s & due to the generosity of the contributors we made almost $500!

I just love Friands – because of their name, they make me think of my friends & the people that I love in life. I have continued to make these gorgeous treats time & time again just adoring the simplicity of them. They can come in the guise of blueberry as well, one of my favourites, but this time I made red raspberry ones for my friend & Valentine. Mick – I heart you... in friands!

125g butter

1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
1 cup almond meal
1 ½ cups icing sugar sifted
¾ cup plain flour sifted
½ tsp baking powder
5 egg whites of large eggs
1 punnet of fresh berries

Preheat your oven 180°C (350°F).  Pre-prepare by greasing & flouring a friand or muffin tin (this time I chose a heart shaped silicone mould). Place the butter & vanilla over low heat, melting it & allowing it to bubble until it starts to go just golden in colour. Set aside to cool slightly.
Place almond meal, icing sugar, flour & baking powder in a bowl & stir to combine. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold in the egg whites, and stir until just combined. Add the melted butter mixture & fold again until just mixed in. Spoon approx 2 tablespoons of the mixture into each prepared mould, then place chosen berries on top by gently pushing them in until they are just poking up from the mixture. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden & springy on top but still moist in the centre. Leave to cool for 10 minutes & turn out onto a wire rack.

:: makes approximately 10 gorgeous friands.

:: beating egg whites to a soft peak ::

:: folding through the eggwhites into the mixture ::

To Serve

:: Simply dust with icing sugar. For an extra indulgence, I sometimes like to warm them & add a dollop of double cream. Ooooohhhh!!!

:: my little kitchen helper ::

:: cleaing up the dishes ::

Kitchen Notes
::  As mentioned, you can choose any berry that you like! I have used blueberries, strawberries & raspberries all successfully. You could also try blackberries or peaches. 
:: I also like to make mini friends for my toddler – he loves to help make them as well! 
:: Whenever you have leftover eggwhites, friends are a great solution. Eggwhites can keep up to two weeks in the fridge if in a sealed container. 
:: Friands freeze very well. These make for a great lunchbox snack as they thaw just in time for morning tea as well as holding their shape. 
:: Replace the flour with a gluten free substitute to make friands for coeliac friends.

:: strawberry friands cooling in a mini muffin tin ::

Friand

:: The friand pastry, which has become popular in Australia & New Zealand appears to have been based on the French financier; however, Australian & New Zealand friands typically have additional flavourings such as fruit, coconut, chocolate, and nuts. Australian & New Zealand friands are also typically baked in oval shapes.

:: making mini strawberry friands ::

:: A financier is a small French cake, often mistaken for a pastry. The financier is a light, moist teacake, similar to sponge cake, and usually contains almond flour, crushed or ground almonds, or almond flavoring. The basis of the cake itself is beurre noisette (brown butter), egg whites, powdered sugar and flour. Financiers are often baked in shaped moulds. The name "financier" is said to derive from the traditional rectangular mould, which resembles a bar of gold. Another theory says that the cake became popular in the financial district of Paris surrounding La Bourse du Commerce (the former name of the Paris stock exchange).

:: flavourful raspberry friands ::

Financiers are often served topped with whipped cream, berries, or other fruit, and served accompanied by ice cream or other frozen confections. Financier pans are traditionally rectangular; however, other shapes are not uncommon.

Source

:: The origins for the “friand” is sourced from Wikipedia.

I would also love to see your Megann's Kitchen Creations/photos of recipes that you have made on Megann’s Kitchen Facebook! 

:: Leftover Love ::

Holiday Ham Pâté

:: Megann’s Kitchen ::

:: leftover love from holiday ham dip ::

It just isn’t Christmas holidays without this recipe: My mother’s festive Leftover Ham Pâté spread. As a small child, she always sold it to me as a simple "dip" instead of pâté... & I loved it! Every Christmas throughout the years my mother would purchase a traditional Kentucky Ham & glaze it with all the love of her homeland, Southern USA. There is one thing that matches the beautiful succulent salty sweetness of her ham, & that is the lovely creaminess of her leftover dip.

The first time I made it for Mick he was beside himself & ate the whole bowl in one sitting! This was followed the next night with requests for more, I couldn’t believe it! A simple dish that I grew up with & made from leftovers was creating such joy on the tastebuds for my future husband. Now, even though it is just the 3 of us in our small family, we still get a full 8kg leg ham as we know it will get eaten in many ways, & ham dip is a must.

I have to admit, I have tweaked it just a little since my first frantic phone call to my mother for the recipe (sorry mum) but for me this easy dish is full of memories & happiness.

Ham Dip

250g sliced leg ham

1/3 cup light sour cream

1/3 cup whole egg mayonnaise

1/3 cup finely grated parmesan

1½  Tbs chives, roughly chopped
1 Tbs seeded mustard (optional)

A pinch of sea salt & cracked black pepper

Garnish

finely chopped chives

pink peppercorns

:: ingredients in KitchenAid ::

:: beautifully blended ::

Place ham, sour cream, mayonnaise, parmesan & chives into a food processor (I use my ever trusty KitchenAid) & blend for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture is creamy & smooth. Then fold through seeded mustard (optional). Place into a serving dish & garnish.

:: garnish with pink peppercorns & chives for a festive touch ::

Serve

:: I like to simply serve my Holiday Ham Dip with either water crackers or a crisp bread.

:: I have also made it with the ham dip served in small pastry cups, with a sprinkling of chives & peppercorns on each individual one. They are perfect for a New Year’s Eve canapé. 

:: share with friends with a platter to take to their house ::

Kitchen Notes

:: This is a dish that I also love to share with my friends, as it is something that many haven’t had. Simply create a platter, tie a festive ribbon around it & voila... present.

:: My beloved KitchenAid Food Processor didn’t always exist in my kitchen. Prior to this I made Holiday Ham Dip in a blender! It took some shaking, stirring & a little water added to help the mixture to move, but it did the job.

:: perfect holiday ham dip ::

I would also love to see your Megann's Kitchen Creations/photos of recipes that you have made on Megann’s Kitchen Facebook!