Financier Cakes: worth their weight in gold

These brown butter almond cakes stole my heart when I was living in France.  I was so enamored of the buttery batter, that I bought three dozen tiny financier molds on one of my shopping sprees at E. Dehillerin.  Since then, I have been testing and tasting every recipe in my cookbook collection.  I even taught a class on making them at Formaggio Kitchen. 

Financiers are traditionally baked in rectangular molds, said to be bankers’ cakes because they look like gold bars.  I love baking them in my individual molds and have started baking batter in scalloped tart pans, generously buttered and dusted in casconade sugar.  They make a rich birthday cake for any almond lover, like my sister Suzie.  The batter couldn’t be easier to assemble.  It can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to one week, which makes financiers perfect for entertaining.  The individual cakes are best eaten the day they are baked and should be covered with a tea towel until served.  A full sized cake tends not to dry out as quickly, so it could be baked the night before.  Leftovers must be toasted for breakfast- I promise you won’t need to spread it with any butter.

The only tricky part to this recipe is browning the butter.  Cut the butter into small pieces and heat in a heavy bottomed pot, over a medium flame.  Once the butter has melted, give it your full attention.  The separated butter will start to brown at the bottom of the pan and the top will foam.  When an aroma of hazelnuts wafts up, remove it from the heat. 

Financier Cakes
    Adapted from Anne Willan

Yields 48 tiny cakes

½ lb butter, and more for buttering molds
¾ C blanched almonds, ground
¾ C flour, sifted
2 ¼ C powdered sugar, sifted
1 C egg whites, from about 8 eggs

1.    In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, brown the butter.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
2.    Double butter the molds or cake pan with warm butter, using a pastry brush. 
3.    Whisk together the almonds, flour and sugar.  Move to a heavy bottomed sauce pan. 
4.    Whisk the egg whites until frothy.  Add the whites to the dry almond mixture, whisking to combine, over a low heat until just warm.  Remove from the heat and add the browned butter in a steady stream, whisking all the while.
5.    Fill the buttered molds to the top with batter.  Bake in a 400º F oven until the cakes are golden and firm to the touch, about 12 minutes.  Unmold while hot and cool the little cakes on a rack.

-CY

Comments

[jorge Jorge Lamport]

How lucky you are to be traveling and enjoying food and sharing it with eveyone. If you are ever in Guatemala please look me up, i have a small restaurant and cooking school, 35yrs old i've been cooking for 15yrs, started school in paris did afew stages and just very passionate about food.

keep enjoying,

jorge jorge