Hazelnut Orange And Raspberry Mini Cakes Or Friands Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Melt the butter in a small pan, then remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. Grease eight holes of the friand (or muffin) tin with a little bit of butter.
• Blitz 85g (2/3 cup) of the pistachio nuts in a food processor with the confectioners' sugar until very finely chopped. Tip into a bowl with the ground almonds and flour and mix together. Roughly chop the remaining pistachio nuts and set aside.
• Froth the egg whites lightly with a fork, then pour into the nuts and flour mixture with the melted butter and mix well.
• Pour the mixture into the friand tin holes, add a few raspberries to each one, then scatter with the chopped pistachios. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the friands are risen and springy to the touch and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
• Serve warm or at room temperature. Dust with a little confectioners' sugar if you like. They should be light and chewy!
• Twist:
• Pecan Pie Friands: Make the friand recipe above, swapping pistachios for 100g (1 cup) pecans and the raspberries for 75g (2.6 oz) chewy toffee, chopped into small pieces. Sprinkle the toffee over the friand batter before baking.

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 180ºC or 160°C if using a fan-forced oven.
• Sift the flour and icing sugar into amixing bowl. Then add the hazelnut meal and the orange rind. Mix.
• In a seperate bowl, whisk the egg until lightly frothy.
• Add the egg whites to the flour blend and stir to combine.
• Fold in the melted butter and raspberries and stir well to combine.
• Spoon mix into bakeware, filling each 2/3 full. Makes 12 friands.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. Mine usualy take 20 minutes using a fan-forced oven.
• Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
• Dust with more icing sugar to serve or serve with cream and berries.