Extract: Blueberry Friand Slice from GIVE

When people you love are battling cancer, or facing another major life change, often the best thing you can do for them is to offer your love, support . . . and a delicious homemade treat, beautifully packaged and delivered to their door.

Along with a little help from some well-known Breast Cancer Cure Ambassadors, beloved foodie Allyson Gofton has put together a delightful collection of recipes that are straightforward to make and perfect for gifting.

Enjoy this delightful summery recipe extracted with kind permission from GIVE by Allyson Gofton, published by Bateman Books, RRP $45.00. Note $30 from the sale of each book goes to Breast Cancer Cure, a charity supporting New Zealand-led breast cancer research.

Blueberry Friand Slice

Blueberry season carries over from summer into early autumn, allowing us to crib a few extra weeks of summer’s berry fruits. Friands — mini cakes made from almond meal, egg whites and fruit — are a delightful alternative to muffins. These French petits gâteaux are best made with unsalted butter. In order to simplify the recipe,

I’ve turned the individual friands into a slice — no need for special moulds. This can be served as a dessert or an afternoon treat. To make the friand slice gluten free, replace the wheat flour with my Gluten-free Flour Blend (see page 285).

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Makes: 20 pieces

½ cup flour

1 ½ cups icing sugar, plus extra to serve

1 cup ground almonds

6 egg whites, room temperature

175 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla essence or extract

grated rind of 1 large lemon

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries, slightly crushed

mascarpone or sweetened whipped cream to serve

Preheat the oven to 190°C and set the oven rack in the centre. Grease and line a 20cm x 30cm slice tin with baking paper.

Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in the ground almonds and make a well in the centre.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until they begin to foam. Pour into the well, along with the butter, vanilla essence or extract and lemon rind and stir together gently until just combined. Gently fold in the crushed blueberries. Spread the mixture into the prepared slice tin.

Bake for 20–25 minutes until the friand slice is firm to the touch and has shrunk away from the sides. Cool in the tin for 2–3 minutes before turning out onto a cake rack to finish cooling.

Serve warm dusted with icing sugar, accompanied with mascarpone or sweetened whipped cream.

BLUEBERRIES WITH LAVENDER

Crush half a punnet of blueberries with a potato masher. Mix in 1 tablespoon sugar and add 2–3 lavender heads and mash to release the oil from the lavender. It is best to use English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) as it has a softer, sweeter note. Stir in the remaining half punnet of berries and cover. Set aside for an hour at room temperature for the flavours to infuse. Delicious served with the slice.

GIVE is available in all good bookstores now.