Raspberry Friands

Another friand variety, every couple of weeks I change the flavour to reflect the change of seasons and keep customers coming back for something different. I'm going to repeat myself and recommend you buy flaked almonds and ground them in a food processor this will give the friands a better crumb and infinitely lighter. You can use pre-ground almonds but I find the final product too dry, dense and smacky on the pallet. Also this mixture will sit happily in your fridge for up to a week and yields around 48 friands.

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
150g raspberries

ICING:
200g raspberries
400g cream cheese
100g caster sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

METHOD:
Place butter 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, 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 mold then dot 3 raspberries down each friand like buttons. Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes.
To make the icing place raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in sauce pan and place over a medium heat, cook for about 10 minutes till a syrup forms then remove from heat and leave to cool till luke warm. Put cream cheese in mixing bowl and using a beater whip air into cream cheese. Pour half the raspberry syrup into cream cheese and beat till well combined. Using a tablespoon place a large dot of icing on top of each friand followed by 1 teaspoon of raspberry syrup and a fresh raspberry then lightly dust with icing sugar.

Raspberry Jam

Spring is in the air (sort of) and British raspberries are here (sort of). Actually they've been coming from Spain but still very lovely and makes great jam. Its a lazy long weekend full of fickle weather so why not burn some time by making a batch of jam, this jam to be precise.

1kg raspberries
1 kg granulated sugar
1 small lemon
1 lime

METHOD:
Juice lemon and lime into large pot and add raspberries, place over medium high heat and stir till raspberries turn mushy. When raspberries start to simmer and bubble add sugar, turn heat up to high and bring to a boil, cook over high heat for about 20 minutes. Place a teaspoon of jam on cold plate and leave for 1 minute then run your finger through the middle, if jam doesn't merge back together and clumps slightly then its ready. Pour jam into hot sterilized jars and seal tightly, leave to set for a day before using.

Raspberry and White Wine Muffins

Almost muffin'ed out with all the varieties I've posted in the last couple of weeks, having a mini 90's flash back! Not to worry the main reason I wanted to post this recipe is because of Etienne's awesome photo! p.s. Very yummy flavour combination.

450g plain flour
200g sugar
100g butter
2 eggs
100ml buttermilk
100ml milk
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
300ml white cooking wine
150g frozen raspberries

METHOD:
Place butter in sauce pan and melt over a medium heat once melted remove from heat and place to one side to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, raspberries and roughly mix together. Beat eggs into the butter and pour onto the dry mixture along with buttermilk, milk, vanilla and 200ml of wine. Using a butter knife cut through the wet and dry combining together till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with spray oil or butter and evenly distribute the batter between the molds and sprinkle each muffin top with a little extra sugar. Bake muffin's in pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes.
In the mean time place remaining wine in sauce pan with 3 tablespoons of sugar and put over a high heat and bring to a rapid boil for 2 minutes then remove from heat.
Once muffins are cooked brush the tops with  reduced wine syrup and leave muffin's to cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out.