For 2015 I decided I’d try my hand at including a few recipes on my blog.  A while back I took a class in Dublin Cookery School and made a whole host of delicious desserts. One of the recipes included on the night was friands. A friand is like a small muffin only about a million times tastier. Having given up booze for January my weekends have been so much more productive. Apparently there are people who do get up before 11 a.m. on weekends.

So a hangover free Sunday morning inspired me to dig out Lynda Booths recipe for Lime and Coconut friands and give them a go. So here’s what you need to know.

Ingredients for the Friands:

180g of butter, plus extra for greasing the tin.

160g of sifted icing sugar

90g of ground almonds

45g of sifted plain flour

5 egg whites, unbeaten

1tbsp of lime juice

2 limes, finely grated zest

45g desiccated coconut

Raspberries to garnish (optional)

I find when baking it’s easier to measure out all the ingredients in advance so they are ready to throw in when needed.  It does of course give you more dishes to wash up but sure that’s what dishwashers are for. Steps as follows:

1. Pre heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.  I have a fan oven so set it slightly lower at 180C.

2. Melt the butter slowly over a low heat.  You don’t want it to boil or burn.

3. Combine the flour, ground almonds and icing sugar in a bowl, which basically means mixing them together with a spatula.

4. Lightly beat the egg whites until they are slightly frothy and add the lime juice.

5. Add the egg whites to the flour, almonds and icing sugar. Mix together using the spatula or a whisk. No need for an electrical mixer.

6. Add the butter and mix well until you have a batter like picture 3 below.

7. Fold in the lime zest and coconut so its even distributed throughout the batter.

8. Grease the tin with butter.  I found using my fingers was the easiest way to do it.

9. Fill each section to very slightly below the rim.  I actually poured the mixture into a jug and used it to fill them. Much easier to control and easier than trying to spoon the mixture in.

10. Add a Raspberry to each one and push it down gently.  You can use blueberries here either if you prefer.

11. Bake in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes.  This will vary slightly depending on the oven you are using.

While they are baking in the oven you can now make your lime syrup.

Ingredients for the Lime Syrup:

3 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp water

55g of castor sugar

Zest of 2 limes, finely grated

1. Add lime juice, sugar and water to the saucepan.

2. Bring the mixture to the boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar.

3. Add the lime zest and let it boil until the mixture reduces and becomes more of a syrup consistency.

When the friands come out they should be golden on top and have raised. Use a skewer to check if they are done.  If they are it should come out clean. If not give them a few more minutes.

Spoon the lime syrup over each individual friand and allow it a few minutes to soak in while they are still in the baking tray.

Move them to a wire rack/tray to cool completely or begin eating straight away while still warm like I did, they are bloody delicious that way.

You can change the recipe to suit your tastes quite easily be substituting ingredients.  Blueberries or blackberries instead of raspberries. For my next batch I plan to use Orange juice and zest instead of lime and add a square of dark chocolate instead of a raspberry.  You could also add in some mixed nuts or anything else you think might be a good fit.

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