Give brunch a boost with these plum and macadamia friands

Friands are delicate French cakes, leavened with whipped egg and these plum and macadamia friands will bring a little Gallic elegance to a poolside brunch – perfectly light and nutritious, meaning you'll be able to dive in happily after swiping one off the plate.

Best enjoyed fresh on the day they’re made, they also freeze beautifully for up to three months, so you can prepare ahead and have a delicious, crowd-pleasing treat ready whenever the sun invites you out to the deck.

Ingredients

• Makes 8
• 2.65 oz butter, melted and cooked slightly, plus extra melted butter to grease the molds if they are not silicone
• 3.5 oz macadamias
• 5 oz icing sugar, sifted
• 60g plain flour, sifted
• 3 large egg whites
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 plums, cheeks cut off and finely sliced; the remaining flesh around the stone diced
• 2 tbsp plum or apricot jam, to glaze

The Homes & Gardens method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400°F, gas mark 6.
2. Unless your friand or muffin molds are silicone, brush them lightly with melted butter.
3. Roughly chop 1oz of the macadamia nuts and set aside.
4. Put the remaining 75g macadamia nuts in the small bowl of a food processor with 2 tbsp icing sugar (this helps to prevent the nut turning oily) and pulse until finely ground.
5. Tip into a mixing bowl and stir the remaining icing sugar and flour.
6. In a separate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt together until they form stiff peaks.
7. Fold into the macadamia mixture using a large, metal spoon, with the vanilla extract, diced plums and melted butter. Don't over fold; keep the batter light and airy.
8. Divide the batter between the friand or muffin molds and top with a few slices of plum and a sprinkle of the reserved macadamia nuts.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and risen.
10. Cool in the molds for five minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
11. Warm the jam in a small pan to melt it slightly.
12. Brush the tops of the warm cakes with the jam and leave to cool completely.

You can easily buy flexible silicone friand molds online – we love these heart-shaped silicone molds from Wayfair to show your guests that the way to the heart is truly through dessert – but a non-stick muffin mold works just as well.

Love friands? Try our rhubarb friands recipe, too.