kickstart your day: orange and almond friands

The meal that I always can't go without is breakfast. I need to have that slice of bread, a muffin or a croissant before the start of the day. Many of my friends are often surprised when I tell them that I daily set aside a few minutes in the morning before even the earliest class to prepare food. They prefer to save the hours for sleep and make it up with a hearty lunch (or dinner :D). Breakfast is the key to concentration for the day.

And after you have started working, it helps a lot. One week has gone by and I survived my work :) I gotta say, the hours demanded were WAY more than university. It's close to 10 hours a day, 5 days a week vs 12 hours a week. Even though I was still in training, each hour needed my full attention. I made these orange and almond friands to help me start the day.

Before going to Australia, I have never heard or seen these cakes. Although friands are similar to light teacakes and madeleines, they're mostly eaten for breakfast back in Melbourne. What differentiate them from muffins are the large content of almond meal and denser texture. After trying a lemon and a pistachio one, I fell in love. I baked this batch to fill in the shortfall in the shops here. Enjoy~

Orange and Almond Friands
adapted from here
makes 12 muffin-sized friands

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup pure icing sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup almond meal
6 egg whites
185g butter, melted and cooled
1 tbsp grated orange rind

Juice of half an orange 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C and butter a muffin tray.
2. Sift icing sugar and flour into a large bowl.
3. Add the almond meal and whisk to combine.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy.
5. Fold in the egg whites followed by the melted butter, rind and juice.
6. Pour the mixture into the muffin moulds until they are 3/4 full.
7. Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden and springy to the touch.
8. Cool before unmoulding.

The friands can last up to 3 days if stored in an airtight container or up to 2 months if frozen. Dust with icing sugar to serve or make the syrup from the original recipe.