Mango Friands

Friands have a special place in Australian café culture - we may have ditched the daggy cupcakes for muffins but nowadays, you wouldn't want to be seen without this trendy little cake perched beside your skinny decaf soy latte.

The history of Friands is a little sketchy as they almost appear to have come from nowhere but they have won our hearts. They seem to be based on a French cake called Financier.

It's easy to understand their appeal - they are made from a mix that includes, butter, icing sugar, almond meal and egg whites which results in this moist and chewy bite that although light, still has substance to it.

Most recipes will include a little flour but for this recipe I've incorporated a flour I recently discovered - Coconut Flour. The best bit is that the friand, using this flour, is now Gluten Free!

When you first open the packet there is such an overpowering scent of coconut - it is delightful. It is slightly off white as you can see and much finer ground then almond meal. There is a coconut taste to the flour but I wouldn't recommend it be eaten raw.

The fruit I've chosen to add to these friands is mango - I think coconut and mango and flavours that really work well together and this would an excellent way to showcase that relationship.

Mango Friands
[Makes 20 small Friands]

220 grams butter, melted and cooled
250 grams pure icing sugar, sifted
55 grams coconut flour, sifted
150 grams almond meal, sifted
6 egg whites
250 grams diced fresh mango

Whip the egg whites until fluffy but not not yet reaching soft peak stage - we aren't making a souffle - you want them aerated but still a bit sloppy.

Place the icing sugar, coconut flour and almond meal into a bowl and stir well to amalgamate. Pour in the cooled, melted butter and mix well and then tip in the egg whites and fold them through. It's not necessary to be too precious about this stage.

Finally sprinkle over the diced mango and fold through again.

Divide the mixture into your friand cases, if using or you could use a muffin tin. The friands I've made are a lot lower, probably half the height than the ones you see in the store - only because of the friand cases I used. I actually prefer this lower height as it makes them bite sized.

Bake in a preheated 180°C/350°F oven for about 15-25 minutes or until cooked through. Naturally larger friands will take longer.

Let them cool in the tray.

Be warned, they are extremely addictive!

Friands