Friands

My recipe tells me that the word "friand" means little cake, in French. What ever it means I know they are delicious, buttery, light and best served warm from the oven. I like to add fruit to the top, especially things like raspberries, sliced strawberry or sliced apricot. If they get cold, or you make them the day before, 15-20 seconds in the microwave will bring them back to their soft, buttery texture, but the edges won't be crispy like they are if they are just out of the oven. The ones in the picture below have sliced apricots on top, but you can use whatever is in season. See below for more suggestions.

Makes 12
 
Preparation: 15 mins.
Cooking: 30 mins.
 
185g butter, melted
1 cup (110g) almond or hazelnut meal
6 egg whites, beaten lightly
1½ cups (240g) icing sugar 
½ cup (75g) plain flour
 
Preheat the oven to moderately hot (200°C). Grease 12 oval or rectangular friand moulds or a 12-hole muffin pan (one-third-cup capacity). Combine butter, ground almonds, egg whites, sifted icing sugar and flour into a bowl, stir until combined (To add flavour variations, see below).
 
Divide the mixture among the prepared pans (topping with any flavour variations desired) and bake in a moderately hot oven for about 30 minutes. Turn the friends onto a wire rack to cool.
 
Suitable to freeze.
Not suitable to microwave.
 
Variations:
Banana – one small banana, sliced and placed on top of the mixture before baking;
Plum – two medium plums sliced and placed on top of the mixture before baking;
Fig – two medium figs sliced , placed slices on mixture before baking; 
Berry – scatter blueberries, raspberries, mulberries or blackberries over the mixture before baking;
Citrus – add two teaspoons of grated lemon or orange rind and one tablespoon of poppy seeds to the batter;
Passionfruit – drizzle the pulp of two medium passionfruit over the mixture before baking;