Step 1

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Step 2

Lightly grease the pans with a little butter.

Step 3

Place butter in a pan over low heat. When it has melted, cook it for 3-4 minutes until you start to see flecks of brown appear. Set aside to cool.

Step 4

Sift the icing sugar and flour into a bowl and stir in the almond meal and lemon zest.

Step 5

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy (do not over whisk as you just need to loosen not aerate them). Add to the dry ingredients along with the melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla. Use a metal spoon to combine, then fill the moulds three-quarters full and place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until light golden (a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean).

Step 6

Meanwhile, to make the lemon curd, finely grate the lemon zest. Use your hand to roll the lemons over a flat surface several times (this helps extract all the juice), then juice them.

Step 7

Place all the ingredients in a heavy-based saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent it catching, for 10 minutes or until thick. Pour into a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. If you wish to keep for longer, pour into a sterilised jar and seal while still hot. Keep refrigerated.

Step 8

Remove friands from oven and set aside for 5 minutes to cool before turning out.

Step 9

To serve, allow the friands to cool completely, then dust with icing sugar and serve with a generous dollop of lemon curd, some fresh blueberries and thick cream, if desired.