Mixed Berry and White Chocolate Friands

As a general rule I am more of a savoury snack type person. I love pretzels and salty little morsels. Sit me down with some cheese and crackers, or some chips, and I will be one happy little Corinne. There are times however when you just want something sweet. And there are a few sweet things I will never say no to. Last week I told you my all time favourite dessert was cheesecake. This is so true I could eat cheesecake any time of the day or night. This week I am going to share my favourite afternoon tea sweet. Berry and white chocolate friands.

Coffee dates with friends, while super trendy and lots of fun, can be a little boring for me when it comes to ordering. I don't often drink hot drinks and when I do order one I usually only drink two thirds of the mug before I lose interest. This means that at catch ups I am often the one sitting there with a glass of water or soft drink while everyone sips away at their hot beverages. Because of this I always try and ensure that we are headed somewhere that serves something tasty to eat. I love looking at all the delicious, pretty little sweets in the glass fronted cases. I do not, however, enjoy making a decision on which sweet to buy. Decision making and I are not exactly buddies, in fact I hate it! Friands are the exception to this rule. If I spot friands in that glass fronted cabinet all bets are off, the decision is made and I am guaranteed to not have ordering remorse.

That's a thing right? I'm not the only one who suffers from buyers remorse at restaurants am I? You know, when you um and ah over the menu, eventually making a last minute decision when pressed by the waitstaff and regret your decision as soon as it arrives. I am notorious for it.

Anyway friands never give me ordering remorse. They have also become one of the most requested sweets for me to bake by my family. So I thought it was time to share one of my most popular recipes with you.

This week's hints/tips:
* I used mixed berries today, I usually use just raspberries but thought I would mix it up this time. I was also out of raspberries, haha. So basically you can top them with whatever you think will work.
* I usually bake my friands in muffin cases. This is for a few reasons: it makes cleanup easier; I am too lazy to grease my pans; I don't own a proper friand pan.
* Save your left over egg yolks. They can be used to make pudding or lemon curd or custard. Store in an airtight container, covering the yolks in water, for up to two days in the fridge.

Enjoy!

Mixed Berry and White Chocolate Friands



Makes: 12
Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
6 egg whites
185g butter, melted
1 cup almond meal
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/2 cup plain flour
100g white chocolate chips
100g (roughly) frozen berries

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Line or grease 12 pan muffin tray or friand tray.
Place egg whites in a bowl and whisk lightly with a fork to combine.
Add butter, almond meal, sifted icing sugar, and flour. Stir to combine.
Add chocolate chips and stir through.
Divide batter evenly between pans.
Bake friands for 10 minutes, then top with berries. Bake for a further 15 - 20 minutes, until golden.
Cool on wire rack (right side up).
Drizzle with melted white chocolate or dust with icing sugar before serving.