Essentially a friand, these little gluten-free, blueberry-studded cakes are a real pleasure. Especially eaten just warm from the oven, when the blueberries burst juicily on your tongue and the flaked coconut is crisp and toasty.
MAKES 12 LITTLE CAKES
* Gluten free
When I was a waitress at a local café as a teenager, a latte in a tall glass and a friand were the height of sophistication – I’m no longer sure that’s true of the latte, but I think it is high time we brought back the friand!
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced and grease a 12-hole tiny loaf (bar) or muffin/ cupcake tin (with 80 ml capacity holes) well with softened butter. Dust with a little extra rice flour, tapping out any excess.
- Place the almond meal, desiccated coconut, white rice flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl and use a hand whisk to combine.
- In a separate bowl, use a hand whisk to whisk the egg whites until frothy. Add the whisked egg whites to the dry ingredients along with the vanilla, lemon zest, and melted butter. Stir until smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the tins.
- Next, divide the blueberries between the cakes, gently pressing them into the batter, then top with the flaked coconut.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until the cakes are cooked through and the coconut flakes are golden.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before carefully turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
STORE & SHARE
These little cakes will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a day or two – just return them to room temperature before serving.
This recipe was originally published in the article A Taste of Sunshine in Issue 52 – Between Thought & Feeling.
