Browned Butter Almond Cakes

Desserts & Chocolate, Parties & Potlucks
There’s nothing like the smell of browned butter and I’ve been making this recipe ever since I was a catering cook in Australia at Black Tie Catering.They were always a highlight of our petit fours and cookie platters. I prefer them with a tart dried fruit, but you could use fresh berries, stone fruit slices, baby figs, anything you like
Browned Butter Almond Cakes

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces unsalted butter
  • 1 cup egg whites
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup almond meal
  • 1 cup self-rising flour
  • 1 cup dried fruit (cherries, cranberries, chopped apricots, candied peel)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 °.
  2. Grease a mini cupcake pan.
  3. In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter, stirring frequently. The butter will get foamy and then the foam will cook away. The butter solids will begin to fall to the bottom of the pan and brown and develop a delicious nutty smell. Do not take your eyes off it. Continue to cook until the butter turns golden being very careful not to burn it. Remove it from heat and pour through a fine strainer into a heat-proof container. Set aside to cool.
  4. In a medium bowl, beat egg whites on low-medium speed until frothy. Slowly add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form then add vanilla. On the slow speed bead in almond meal and self rising flour. Whisk in the cooled butter. Pour batter into mini cupcake pans.
  5. Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.
Total time:
Yield: Depends on the size of the pans you make them in.