Saturday, July 07, 2012

Amarena Cherry Friands

Cinzia from Cindystar is hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I'm savouring the delights of Amarena Cherries.

amarena cherry© by Haalo



Amarena are a sour cherry that come from the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy and you'll most often find them preserved, as these are, in a sweet syrup. They may be small but they have an intense flavour with hints of vanilla and almond. The last time I used these, they were as a secondary ingredient in an apple strudel but this time, since I now have a 2.5kg jar of them (!) they are going to be the main focus.

With those vanilla and almond notes they seem to be a perfect match for friands - and by using potato flour, these little treats are gluten free - no need to feel guilty at all!

amarena cherry friand© by Haalo


Amarena Cherry Friands
[Makes 18]

150 grams butter, melted and cooled
150 grams pure icing sugar, sifted
50 grams potato flour, sifted
100 grams almond meal
4 egg whites
zest of 1 lemon
36 amarena cherries


Whisk the eggwhites until light and fluffy stopping before they reach soft peak stage.

Put the icing sugar, potato flour and almond meal into a bowl and stir briefly. Make a well in the center and pour in the melted butter and lemon zest - stir to incorporate.

Add a large spoonful of beaten egg white and stir to slacken the mixture before folding through the remaining egg whites - fold the egg whites in a third at at time and be gentle when folding to ensure a light mixture.

Divide the mixture amongst the friand cases (filled to 3/4 level) and top with two amarena cherries.

Bake in a preheated 170°C oven until golden and cooked through - about 15 to 25 minutes.

amarena cherry friand© by Haalo


Let the friands cool in their cases before serving.

3 comments

  1. As you know, I love friands and of course I love amarene. My aunt made a big jar every year and they were such a treat. Two and a half kg is a lot of amarene ;)

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  2. So jealous, I love sour cherries! And what a delicious way to use them.

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  3. Don't know if it's better the recipe or the pictures!
    Thanks for your entry, recap is finally up, sorry for this long delay but had big troubles with internet :-(
    ... and quite a surprise to me to read in your posts you have both parents with Italian origins :-)

    ReplyDelete

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