Trying to think of a recipe to use up egg whites recently, I settled on friands: the French patisserie made with egg whites and almonds, which are deliciously light and dangerously moreish. These lemon and pistachio friands have a richness from the nuts and freshness from the lemon zest that’s perfect for this time of year. I’ve given the quantities per egg white below so you can scale up to use as many as you have! This made six friands in a standard bun tin.
1 egg white
30g butter
40g icing sugar
10g flour
20g ground almonds
Zest 1/2 lemon
10g pistachios, finely chopped.
Preheat the oven to Fan 180C and place a flat baking tray in to preheat. Melt the butter over a gentle heat on the hob or in brief bursts in the microwave, then use a pastry brush to grease the inside of the bun tin generously (friands are prone to sticking). Set the rest aside and allow to cool fully.
Place the egg white in a baking bowl and whisk until frothy (not soft peaks). Sieve the flour and icing sugar over the egg whites then add the lemon zest and ground almonds and lightly fold together. Add the butter and fold together again until the mixture is smooth with no streaks of butter.
Fill six of the holes in the bun tin with the mixture until 3/4 of the way up the sides and scatter with the chopped pistachios. Place on the preheated baking sheet in the oven and bake for around 20 minutes, until risen and golden. Set aside to cool a little then unmould gently and transfer to a wire rack to cool fully – though they are delicious warm.
