Bite-sized burnt butter and pecan cakes – recipe

Melbourne pastry chef Charlie Duffy microplanes nuts into thin, leaf-like shavings for his crisp mini cakes. Brown the butter well for an extra-sweet nutty aroma

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.