Financiers are bite-size cakes once made for bankers to eat on the go without getting crumbs all over their suits. The traditional rectangular bar mold resembles gold bars. I have yet to invest in the mold so I used a mini muffin pan to make little cakes so tempting to pop in my mouth one after the other.
Like madeleines, they are small, tender cakes but have almond flour/meal in them so they have a nuttier flavor. Other nuts can be substituted. The Bread Project makes my favorite version with hazelnuts. I did use almond meal here which I talked about in my macaron post as being good for everything except macarons. I like seeing the little flecks of almond skin.
The other ingredient that gives financiers great flavor is brown butter. I absolutely love the smell of it. Although when I burnt the butter the first time, that was not so pleasant. I was trying to get the butter a really deep caramel but it cooked way too fast so the second time I took it off a little early and let the remaining heat cook it for a few seconds.
With the mini muffin I put a little more than one tablespoon of batter in each cavity and made 24 financiers. Baked for 8 minutes they came out golden and crisp on the edges and moist on the inside. This recipe was really easy to put together and didn’t require any preparation or resting time ahead.
Week 31 of the Bouchon Bakery Book Project
Read the Project recap on the Financiers
Bake with us!
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