Financiers cakes Tutorial
Financiers (formerly known as a visitandines) are small bite size almond cake which are flavored with a beurre noisette ( translated as Hazelnut butter because of its color) and topped up with a piece of fruit or flakes almonds. the original Financiers are baked in small rectangular cake pans but you can bake them in an everyday muffin pan too. Financiers are known to be light and moist with a crisp, eggshell-like exterior.
Originally the small cakes were made by the Visitandines order of nuns, the financier was popularized in the nineteenth century where The name financier is said to derive from the traditional rectangular mold, which resembles a bar of gold. According to some sources, the cake became popular in the financial district of Paris surrounding the Paris stock exchange, as the cake could easily be stored in the pocket for long periods without being damaged. however it is also said the recipe was taken by the Swiss hence why the name and the shape of the cake was change to make it look like a new cake made locally.
As with everything in older recipes it is always hard to know what the exact story is. But one thing is for sure these financier are beautiful, tasty and easy to make at home.
Ingredients:
50 grams \ 0.40 cups of plain flour
60 grams \ 0.70 cups of almond meal
150 grams \ 1.13 cups of icing sugar
3 egg whites ( medium caliber)
150 grams \0.64 cups of plain butter
for the toppings fruit of your choice
or flaked almonds.
you can also make the financier plain
Useful cookware:
Financiers mould: https://amzn.to/2Dv9L5E
If you like to find the perfect wine please check our wine pairing recommendation
Recipe instructions:
Start by measuring and weighing all of the ingredients and separate the egg whites and egg yolks. (You can reuse the egg yolks for a rice pudding for example or use it in other preparations.)
Make the Beurre noisette (brown butter)
In a small sauce pan over medium heat add all of the butter and wait until it melt completely. Once melted reduce the heat slightly and start to whisk gently until the butter start to get a brownish hazelnut colour (beurre noisette). When it does turn the heat of immediately
Filter now the butter through a sieve into a small bowl or container and leave to cool down for a few minutes.
Prepare the financier batter:
To make the batter you need to sift and mix all of the dry products first. In a large bowl, start by adding the flour followed by the icing sugar (also called powdered sugar) then the almond meal (ground almonds). Once all the dry product are in mix them well with a wooden spoon, make a well in the middle and poor in all of the egg whites. Blend the egg white slowly with the other ingredients using a circular motion (as shown in the video) when the egg whites are almost all incorporated start to add the butter little bit at a time. I usually do in 3 times. If you have brown deposit from the butter in your bowl towards the end you can either add some of the deposit in the batter or just leave them in the bowl it is up to you.
Leave the batter to rest.
Once the batter is ready, cover it with a plastic wrap it to the touch (meaning the plastic wrap is directly in contact with the batter to avoid it drying on the surface)
Place the bowl in the fridge and leave to rest for 1 hour.
Garnish the Financiers mould:
After one hour of resting take the batter out of the fridge. Start by coating the inside of the cake pan you decided to use with butter before adding one tablespoon of batter in each of the cavity. In the video I used a muffin pan and it worked perfectly. However, if you want to make the real shaped financiers, you will have to use a cake tin that is specially build to bake financiers (which should made of small shallow rectangle cavities). Once the batter is in it is time to add a topping of your choice. (pears, strawberries, raspberries, flaked almonds, peach , apricot) or if you prefer no topping at all. For the topping just add one piece of fruit per financier
Bake the financiers:
Bake the financier in a preheated oven at 200 Celsius ( 392 F) for 5 minutes then reduce the heat to 180 degrees Celsius ( 357 F) and continue to bake for 10 minutes. If after that time the financier do not look like they are ready just leave them to cook for a few more minutes. To know when the financier are cooked, plunge a small pointy knife in one of them and if the blade of the knife comes out wet but with no raw batter sticking on the knife the financier a cooked
Undish and serve the Financiers.
Ounce cooked, take the financier out of the oven and wait a few minutes before removing them from the tin. Once out, leave the financier to cool down on a cooling rack or anything you have. You don’t have to but it is common practice to sprinkle some icing sugar on the top of the financiers before leaving them to cool down. Once they have cool down you can serve and eat the financier.
Note: you can keep the financier for 24 hours at room temperature covered with a tea towel. I personally think that they are even better the next day.
Enjoy
