These moreish little cakes were inspired by a friend’s pecan farm in northern New South Wales. They’re salty, sweet, rich and nutty, with a crisp exterior that gives way to a soft centre. Their toasty aroma comes from browning the butter until it turns a deep brown.

I used panela sugar, which lends a lovely caramel flavour to the mix, but if it’s not available you can replace it with more brown sugar.

If you don’t have oval cake moulds or a cupcake tin with oval holes, any muffin or mini-cupcake tin – or even one with more traditional rectangular holes – will work. If your moulds are a bit bigger than the ones I used, just bake them for a couple of extra minutes or until the centre feels just set. If they’re smaller, take a little time off the bake as they’ll cook a bit quicker.

You can premake the mixture and refrigerate it for up to five days before baking, which helps to ensure an even rise.

Charlie Duffy’s burnt butter and pecan cakes – recipe

Makes 20

170g unsalted butter
100g brown sugar
75g caster sugar
75g panela sugar
45g almond meal
45g pecans
70g plain flour
4g salt
1g ground cinnamon
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped
160g egg white (from about 6 eggs)

To finish
150g pecans

Lightly grease 20 7×2 cm oval cake moulds and arrange on a baking tray evenly spaced apart.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When it starts to foam, stir frequently with a whisk. Continue cooking and stirring until the colour starts to turn deep brown and the smell is nutty and toasty.

Strain the burnt butter through a sieve lined with cheesecloth or coffee filter paper into a heatproof bowl. Set aside to cool to about 65C.

Meanwhile, combine the sugars, almond meal, pecans, plain flour, salt and cinnamon in a food processor and blitz until the pecans have broken down to a fine texture (similar to the almond meal). Empty into a large mixing bowl and add the vanilla seeds.

Add the egg white to the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until just combined, then follow with the still-warm burnt butter and mix with the spatula until just combined.

Pour into a disposable piping bag and cut a small opening in the tip, then pipe the mixture into each mould until it is a couple of millimetres away from the top (I weighed mine to 35g each).

Refrigerate overnight to rest (or for up to five days) – this will ensure an even rise. Skipping this step will risk the cakes popping out of the moulds unevenly during baking.

Preheat the oven to 185C fan-forced (205C conventional).