Whilst I do love autumn & all of the beautiful colours it brings, it doesn’t officially arrive here in the UK until mid September so until then I’m holding on to the final weeks of summer & the late summer offerings too. As the last of the tomatoes ripen up & the ground becomes bare with the exception of the late root vegetables, the shrubs & hedgerows are still very much alive with colourful currants & berries.Two of my favourites are at their best right now, blackberries, one of natures finest free offerings & I look forward to many a foraging expedition for these soon, & redcurrants.
Early September is the perfect time to find bright, shining redcurrants growing low on shrubs, in open woodland & hedgerows here in the UK. For the best quality, pick glossy, plump, firm currants. I like to think of them as the last hurrah of summer. These antioxidant filled little berries are fruity & bursting with a tart-sweet flavour. Often used in jams & jellies or used to decorate cakes & pudding, here I’ve used their glorious colour & bursts of flavour in a batch of light, buttery little friands. The balance of light almond flavour works really well with the berries tart-sweetness & make for a striking appearance on these dainty cakes. Perfect for sharing around over a pot of tea & chatter or packing away for a late summer picnic.
REDCURRANT FRIANDS
(makes 12)
Ingredients:
- 160g butter
- 6 large egg whites
- 100g plain flour
- 220g icing sugar, plus a little extra for dusting
- 125g ground almonds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150g redcurrants
Method:
- Begin by greasing a 12 hols friand or cupcake pan
- Place the butter into a small saucepan & gently melt
- Continue to heat the butter until begins to brown & smell a little nutty, then set aside to cool
- In a large, clean bowl add the egg whites & use a whisk to beat them until they become white & frothy
- Next, place a sieve over the egg whites bowl & sift over half of the flour, icing sugar & ground almonds
- Use a large spoon or spatula to fold these into the egg whites until almost combined
- Sift the remaining dry ingredients into the bowl & fold again until just combined
- Finally, pour the melted butter & vanilla extract into the bowl & fold through until everything it well combined
- Devide the mixture up equally between the friand or cupcake pan before adding the redcurrants on top of each one
- Bake the redcurrant friands in the oven at 180C for 20-23 minutes until lightly golden & a skewer inserted into the centre of a friend comes out cleanly without any mixture
- Leave the friends to cool in their tin for 5 minutes before removing & placing on a cooling rack to cool completely
- Once cooled, finish the friands with a little dusting of icing sugar
