I'm definitely a cherry person.
A few weeks ago, I posted my Cherry Crumble Cake and was undecided if I was a strawberry or cherry person. But when faced with a choice of the two, I will always pick cherries.
The summer days are rolling on, and I'm enjoying every single day. Long days spent idling in the park, lying in the grass, catching up on my reading, and innumerable hours spent looking for four-leaf clovers. It's amazing how many I've actually found over the years - on average, I tend to find one or two a year. Not that I'm that superstitious or anything, and I really do believe you make your own luck (success = 5% luck + 5% ambition + 90% hard work), but it's such a great feeling finding a four-leaf clover.
It's not all just fun and games, because even though I'm enjoying the summer as much as I can, I find it really hard to balance work and play. Running this blog and trying to make it as a food stylist/photographer takes a lot of discipline and I'm still fine-tuning my time management skills. Thing is, there's so much I want to do with this blog, with my photography & with food styling, but I feel like a lifetime isn't enough time for all I'd like to achieve. My to-do list is literally endless and there definitely aren't enough hours in the day.
Back to cherries, and this post.
I made friands this week, which are the Australian version of financiers. They have a special friand tin in Australia for these, it looks very similar to a muffin tray, but has oval shapes rather than round ones. I've tried looking for a friand tin but haven't found one yet (if anyone knows where I can find one, please let me know - it would be most appreciated!).
I used a normal muffin tray for these. For the batter, I added coconut to the ground almond mixture which works beautifully with the cherries - the friands turn out slightly crispier on the outside (more like macaroons) and even more moist on the inside.
And now, for a special giveaway.
I enter a lot of competitions and giveaways, either in magazines, blogs, or online, and I've been quite lucky over the years, as I tend to win more often than not. Last week, I found out I'd won a KitchenAid mixer, and because I already have one (and love it!), this one is all yours.
This giveaway is open to all email subscribers of Mowielicious - all those already subscribed by email will automatically be entered into the giveaway. If you're not a subscriber yet, don't worry, it's easy and free to subscribe. All you have to do is enter your email address in the box on the top left side of this page where is says 'Subscribe by email'.
And that's it! You will automatically be entered into the next email subscriber giveaway. Just make sure to activate your subscription once you get the activation email.
This giveaway is open to anyone anywhere in the world and ends this Sunday the 18th of July at 12:00 GMT. I will pick a winner at random using random.org and I will email you to let you know you've won. Good luck!
Cherry Coconut Friand Recipe (printable version)
50g ground almonds
50g dessicated coconut
250g icing sugar
75g flour
7 egg whites
125g butter, melted & browned, cooled to room temperature
250g cherries, stoned
1. Preheat a standard oven to 180°C. Grease a 12 cup muffin (or friand) tray.
2. Mix the almonds, dessicated coconut, icing sugar and flour in a large bowl.
3. Add the egg whites and mix until just combined.
4. Add the cooled melted & browned butter slowly and mix until it is all incorporated.
5. Fill each cup of the muffin/friand tray up to 3/4 full with batter (they will rise slightly during baking) and top with cherries.
6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Best served warm, straight out of the oven.
