Damson Friands

Damson are one of my favourite fruits to cook with, quite sour and not really edible in its raw state. These small cherry-sized plums tend to make an appearance in September (autumn) for around 3 weeks and then you'll have to wait another year to harvest. The best way to enjoy damsons are stewed or jellied then pushed through a sieve to remove the stones. Since the season is so short, I tend to buy up in large quantities and freeze them for later use.

600g flaked almonds
300g caster sugar
250g good quality salted butter
100ml butter milk
10 egg whites
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

ICING:
300g wild damson
150g caster sugar
3 tablespoons water
300g cream cheese
100g mascarpone

METHOD:

Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium heat until it becomes foamy then remove from heat and leave to stand. Ground almonds in food processor until they are fine like breadcrumbs (might take several minutes to get this consistency). Place the ground almonds in a large mixing bowl with sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and mix together until combined. Add the buttermilk, egg whites, vanilla, butter to the dry mixture and beat together for 2 minutes.

To bake friands grease friand pan with either oil spray or butter and 3/4 fill each mould. Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 180ºC for 25 minutes.

To make the icing put damson, water and sugar in sauce pan and place over a high heat, cook for about 10 minutes until a syrup forms then remove from heat. Pass the damson through a sieve and using the back of a spoon push through the flesh and discard the stones. Put cream cheese and mascarpone in mixing bowl then add 3/4 of the damsom syrup, beat until well combined. Using a tablespoon place a large dot of icing on top of each friand followed by 1 teaspoon of damson syrup.

Melilot Friands

Yet another friand recipe but this one is definitely my favorite, well for now at least. After my foraging trip last month I discovered Melilot which is used in french cooking and grows wild this time of year. Its a weed slash yellow flower that has a very distinct pleasant flavour similar to vanilla, hay, almonds and honey. Thank god very little is needed to reap the flavours from melilot, at £400 a kilo you don't want to be too heavy handed with this particular ingredient.
This batch will yield 24 friands and the unbaked batter will sit happily in the fridge for a week.

600g flaked almonds
300g caster sugar
250g good quality salted butter
100ml buttermilk
10 egg whites
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5g melilot

ICING:
200ml double cream
150g sugar
5g melilot
500g cream cheese

METHOD:
Place butter and melilot in a small sauce pan and melt over medium heat till it becomes foamy then remove from heat and leave to stand. Ground almonds in food processor till fine like bread crumbs might take several minutes to get the right consistency. Then place almonds in a large mixing bowl with sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and mix together till combined. Add the buttermilk, egg whites, vanilla and strained butter to the dry mixture and beat together for 2 minutes.
To bake friands grease a friand pan with either oil spray or butter and 3/4 fill each mold then bake in a pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes.
To make icing put cream, sugar and melilot into a sauce pan and place over high heat, bring to a rolling and rapid boil for 5 minutes then remove from heat and strain out the melilot. Once cooled beat the infused mixture into cream cheese till well combined.
Once the friands have cooled completely turn out from pan and spoon a large dollop of icing on top and garnish with a little sprinkling of melilot.