Wednesday 15 May 2013

Rhubarb, Lemon & Ginger Friands

Rhubarb, lemon & ginger friands
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the tidy-up we had in our garden and one of the things I was looking forward to was the rhubarb growing so all the family could enjoy it in some tasty treats. All four of us are rhubarb fans and the brilliant thing about rhubarb is that it is so easy to grow. The variety we have is Timperley Early but due to the seemingly constant snow in the past months it hasn't been as early as usual. Despite living in Yorkshire we don't force it but simply let it die down at the end of the season and then wait for it to come back up the next year. That's it. The perfect crop for a lazy gardener.

I've recently acquired 8 mini loaf tins which I have been desperate to use. Therefore I decided to posh up my usual style and make some friands. You can buy special friand tins but these tins have worked just as well. My tins measure 9cm x 6cm around the top and have a depth of 4cm. You can also bake these in muffin cases. If you do use muffin cases or another sort of tin just make sure the mixture doesn't come any further than two-thirds of the way up the sides.


This month's Recipes for Life challenge for the Swallow charity is rhubarb, lemon and spice and since these contain the magical trio I will be submitting them to Vanesther at Bangers & Mash.

recipes for life
With the seasonal rhubarb I will also be sending this to Ren Behan for Simple and in Season. Although, I expect she is probably sick of the sight of rhubarb recipes by now. I'm sorry.
SimpleinSeason 

My tip for this recipe is don't melt the butter until you need it otherwise it will cool and turn back into its original state. Obviously this was done purely for recipe testing methods...If you are wondering what to do with the leftover 5 egg yolks I make a rich scrambled eggs with mine. Alternatively you could also buy cartons of egg whites in the supermarkets now. I've never tried them but I have heard very good reports about them.

Equipment: 8 friand/little loaf tins or muffin tin lined, electric whisk.

Ingredients

2½ oz (75g) Plain Flour
7oz (200g) Icing sugar
1 tsp (5ml) Ground ginger
4½ oz (125g) Ground almonds
Zest of 1 lemon
5 Egg whites
6oz (175g) unsalted butter, melted
1 stick (about 2oz/50g) Rhubarb, chopped into 1cm pieces.

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.
2. Grease the friand/loaf tins or line a muffin tin with paper cases.
3. In a large bowl sift the flour, icing sugar and ground ginger.
4. Stir in the ground almonds and lemon zest.
5. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until frothy – not stiff peaks!
6. Melt the butter.
7. Fold in the egg whites and butter into the dry ingredients.
8. Spoon the mixture into the tins or cases.
9. Place the rhubarb pieces on top of each friand.
10. Bake for about 20 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

11. Leave in the tins for about 5 minutes to cool slightly and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.



8 comments:

  1. This look totally gorgeous :) not ever used rhubarb in cakes have to be a first soon I think. I bet these would be gorgeous with custard, mmmm!!!
    Ali

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    1. Didn't get as far as making the custard...It makes cooking with rhubarb very easy as you just need to place a few pieces on top of each one.

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  2. They look so cute those little loaves. Adding this to my bookmarked rhubarb recipes!

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    Replies
    1. I have to admit there's something about the shape that makes them stand out from muffins. I may have to convert all my recipes!

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  3. These friands look absolutely scrumptious, Ness. I bet they taste great when they're still just slightly warm. Ooh, I'm making myself so hungry just thinking about it! And the rhubarb teamed with lemon and ginger makes them perfect for May's Recipes for Life challenge - thank you for taking part!

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    Replies
    1. I'll have to make another batch to see what they taste like warm as sadly they have all been eaten now!

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  4. Oh those are so adorable, both the tins and the cakes. Love friands and love those flavours too. Very envious of your rhubarb, we've been really unsuccessful with ours since we took on a new plot - used to have loads.

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    Replies
    1. I haven't done anything special with the rhubarb. It must simply be the type type of soil. That's why it's such a great garden crop for me as it's no hassle.

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I appreciate your comments. If you have any tips, tricks or tweaks please pass them on!