Low Fat Coconut Friand
I made this low fat variation by accident by forgetting to add the butter I'd melted in the microwave. While not as light as real friands they are a tasty alternative if you want something sweet without the motherload.
I made this low fat variation by accident by forgetting to add the butter I'd melted in the microwave. While not as light as real friands they are a tasty alternative if you want something sweet without the motherload.
- Carbohydrate 12.6856885448921 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 4.98677916670809 g
- Fiber 1.49441664193993 g
- Protein 4.11801458376996 g
- Saturated Fat 1.23910916667322 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (40g)
- Sodium 37.7519791667512 mg
- Sugar 11.1912719029522 g
- Trans Fat 0.260684583347071 g
- Calories 108 calories
Step-by-step
- Pre-heat oven to 200 C (reduce heat if fan forced). Grease friand pan.
- Whisk the egg whites until frothy on top.
- Add the icing sugar, almond meal, flour, lemon rind, lemon juice and dessicated coconut. Stir to combine.
- Spoon evenly into friand pan. Sprinkle with flaked coconut.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Rest for 5 minutes in the pan before turning out to cool on a wire rack.
Will these dense little cakes survive the freezer? Friands rely heavily on ground nuts and egg whites for structure rather than creaming butter and sugar, which changes how they handle cold storage. Almond meal contains a high percentage of natural oils that help retain moisture during baking, but those same oils can turn rancid or absorb freezer odors if the pastries are left exposed. Wrap each baked cake tightly in plastic wrap before placing them in a heavy-duty freezer bag, and consume them within two months for optimal taste and texture. When you are ready to serve frozen friands, thaw them at room temperature for roughly two hours rather than using a microwave, which can toughen the delicate crumb structure created by the whipped egg whites. Chemical interactions between the citrus components and the almond proteins also deserve attention. Fresh lemon juice and grated lemon zest introduce acid that reacts subtly with the protein matrix, while desiccated and flaked coconut provide distinct textural contrasts alongside high levels of lauric acid. To achieve the proper rise without traditional creaming methods, whip the egg whites until they are merely frothy on top rather than achieving stiff peaks, ensuring the batter retains enough fluidity to level itself correctly inside the greased friand pan. Pre-heat your conventional oven to 200 degrees Celsius, dropping the temperature if you are using a fan-forced appliance to prevent the exterior from browning before the center sets. Allow the baked pastries to rest inside their metal wells for exactly five minutes before attempting to invert them onto a wire cooling rack, because moving them too soon will cause the fragile cakes to tear apart against the greased sides.
