Browned Butter, Blueberry and White Chocolate Friands

If you have leftover egg whites from making pastry or custard, a great way to use them up is to make friands (known in some parts of the world as financiers).  Australian friands are traditionally baked in a unique pan with oval shaped wells, but you could also bake them in muffin tins if you don't have a special friend tin.

I have a friend who loves white chocolate, so I found the perfect friand for him when I found Carrot and Crumb's recipe for Browned Butter, Blueberry and White Chocolate Friands.  The browned butter gives the friands a lovely nutty flavour, the white chocolate adds a lovely caramelly sweetness, and the blueberries add fruity lusciousness.

If you would like to make these, you will need:

140g butter
100g almond meal
50g plain flour
130g icing sugar
5 egg whites
80g blueberries
80g chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Spray a 12 hole friand or muffin tin liberally with spray oil.

Put the butter into a saucepan over medium heat and heat the butter until it turns golden brown.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, almond meal and icing sugar.  

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they are frothy, then pour them into the flour mixture and fold in to  combine.

Pour the browned butter into the mixture and fold through gently.  Reserve 24 blueberries, and gently fold the remaining blueberries and the white chocolate into the mixture.

Divide the mixture evenly between the friend or muffin tin holes.  Place two blueberries on top of each friand and press down lightly.

Bake the friands in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.

Remove the friands from the oven and gently turn out onto a wire rack to cool.  If they stick, run a knife around the edge of the friend or muffin holes to loosen.

Allow the friands to cool completely before lightly dusting with icing sugar to serve.