I love rhubarb; I love its tartness and it’s just so pretty.  So now this season’s forced rhubarb is in the shops I’m extremely happy. It’s a sign that winter is coming to an end and there is hope! Of course, with the cold weather, a rhubarb and ginger crumble is a must, but I also wanted to make something lighter and prettier. I’ve used this recipe many times now with different fruit, (check out the plum and almond friands post, Plum and Almond Friands) it’s reliable and hasn’t let me down yet. The original recipe is from Waitrose Summer Harvest, 2015.

 

Ingredients

 

125g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing

50g plain flour

115g icing sugar

75g ground almonds

4 medium egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 stick rhubarb, thinly sliced into strips to top the friands

icing sugar for dusting

Directions

·    Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ gas Mark 6.

·    Grease a 12-hole muffin tin with a little butter, then line the bases with circles of baking parchment.

·    Melt the butter.

·    Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl and add the ground almonds. Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Stir the vanilla extract and melted butter into the flour mixture and mix to combine.

·    Using a large metal spoon, fold a quarter of the egg whites into the flour and butter mixture to lighten it, then fold in the remainder until it is just combined.

·    Divide the mixture into the holes in the tins. Arrange the rhubarb on the top and bake for 15-18 minutes. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

·    Serve lightly dusted with icing sugar.