I chose this recipe because of its lovely fragrance and used the Dilmah Italian Almond Tea to perfume the syrup providing a perfect balance between the almond, cardamom and citrus flavours. The syrup also adds a lovely moisture and sheen to the cakes.
Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C if fan forced.
Spray the friand tray with oil.
Sift the icing sugar and flour into a bowl and add butter, almond meal, cardamom and grated orange rind.
Mix well. Lightly whip the egg whites and stir into the mixture.
Place even amounts in the baking tin cups and bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until golden brown and the surface springs back from the touch.
Remove strips of the rind from the orange and place in a small saucepan with the sugar and brewed tea.
Simmer for 5 minutes until sugar is dissolved then boil for approximately 2 minutes until the syrup thickens.
Remove the friands from the tin after cooling for 5 minutes.
Place them on a rack and lightly brush the tops with the syrup.
Arrange 2 or 3 strands of the zested peel on the top of each cake and very lightly dust all over with icing sugar.
Serve with the syrup and add cream if desired.