Rooibos & Rose Friands
Photography: LAURA EDWARDS
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Rooibos & Rose Friands

Friands are little cakes that look fancy but are actually incredibly easy to make. Infusing the butter with rooibos tea brings a warm, earthy sweetness to these almond cakes, while the rosewater offers a delicate floral touch – perfect for a springtime afternoon tea. Bake them in a classic oval friand pan, a small muffin pan or cupcake tray.
Photography: LAURA EDWARDS

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Serves
8-10
Ingredients
150g of unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
40g of plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp of loose leaf rooibos tea
200g of icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
110g of ground almonds
¼ tsp of salt
200g of egg whites
1 tsp of vanilla bean paste
½ tsp of rosewater
2.5 tbsp of flaked almonds
Dried rose petals, to decorate
Method
Step 1

Pre-heat the oven to 210°C (190°C Fan/400°F/Gas Mark 6). Grease a muffin or friand pan with some melted butter and sprinkle the holes with a little flour, tapping it around to make sure it’s evenly coated. Tap out the excess and set aside.

Step 2

Add the butter and tea to a small saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted. Let the butter cool and infuse for 10 minutes, then strain out and discard the tea leaves through a fine mesh sieve.

Step 3

In a large bowl, combine the flour, icing sugar, ground almonds and salt.

Step 4

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg whites, vanilla and rosewater until frothy. You’re not looking for soft peaks here, so this will only take a few seconds. Pour the egg whites into the dry ingredients and stir until combined, then mix in the infused butter. Pour the batter evenly into the holes of the prepared pan and top each one with flaked almonds. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning the tray around halfway through, until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle of a cake comes out clean.

Step 5

Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled, dust with icing sugar and top with some dried rose petals.

A Good Day to Bakeby Benjamina Ebuehi (Quadrille, £22) is out now. Photography: Laura Edwards 

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