What the Hell am I Supposed to Do With All These Egg Whites?
As I mention in the custard-based ice cream recipes, egg whites can be refrigerated or frozen and used later. If you refrigerate them they should be used within a couple days; in the freezer they will last for a couple weeks.
Now there are quite a few ways to use them up. One is to simply beat a couple into your omelet or scrambled eggs in the morning. Another is meringue topping for a pie, or light meringue cookies (like French macarons). Coconut macaroons are always delicious (and easily frozen for a make-ahead dessert). Egg whites are great for sealing homemade pierogies or raviolis. My favorite way to use up a good amount of egg whites is making these utterly awesome friands, or tea cakes, from Ottolenghi.
To say I’m obsessed with Yotam Ottolenghi is a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much. I love that man. The accessibility and ingenuity of his recipes never fails to surprise me. To date, I’ve easily made over 3 dozen of his recipes, and not one has been a flop. This is my favorite of his desserts.
Blackberry and Star Anise Friands
From Yotam Ottolenghi
Makes about 8 cakes. These can be stored, well covered, for up to 3 days.
Note: As with all baking, the recipe will be better and more consistent when you use a kitchen scale to measure out your ingredients. I bought this cheap one after a very nice (and expensive) one crapped out on me. I love it. It’s so easy to use, totally worth the small investment.
Ingredients
- 10 egg whites (340 g)
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbs flour (100g)
- 2 1/4 cup lightly spooned powdered sugar (300g)
- 2 cups almond meal (180g)
- 2 tsp freshly ground star anise (about 4 medium-sized pieces)
- 1/2 tsp coarse salt
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 15 tbs unsalted butter (220g) melted and cooled
- 1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen blackberries (150 g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F. Take 8 mini loaf pans (I use the disposable aluminum ones and just wash and reuse them) and spray them with non-stick cooking spray or brush with melted butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy. They should be a little airy, but not yet starting to form peaks. Sift the dry ingredients (flour through salt) directly into the bowl with the eggs. Stir until just smooth. Add the lemon and cooled melted butter and stir again, just until combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the 8 loaf pans. Evenly distribute the blackberries among the pans. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a skewer poked into the center comes back clean, or to an internal temperature of 204 F. Remove from the pans and let cool on a cooling rack. Serve with tea or next to your favorite ice cream.
