Financiers
According to the popular story, they were made famous by a pastry cook near the Paris stock exchange, and their gold-ingot shape gave them the name. Their entire quality rests on one ingredient: butter browned to a nut colour. That is what gives the characteristic toasted aroma no quantity of almonds can replace. The second thing is whites only, no yolks: they give a moist, dense crumb quite unlike an airy sponge.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Brown butter 10 min
- Batter 10 min
- Chilling 45 min
- Baking 15 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneBrown the butter to a nut colour
Melt the butter in a light-coloured pan and cook until the foam subsides and the solids on the base turn brown and smell of nuts — about 6–8 minutes. A light pan matters here: in a dark one you cannot see the moment butter goes from nutty to burnt.
Ingredients: 150 g butter · 5 pcs egg whites · 150 g icing sugar · 100 g ground almonds · 60 g plain flour · 20 g honey · 1 pinch salt · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Brown solids, nutty smell — take it off at once.Strain and cool the butter
Pour the butter through a fine sieve into a bowl, leaving the solids behind, and let it stand 10 minutes. That is the classic way: the batter stays smooth and the flavour clean and nutty. The butter should be warm but not hot.
Ingredients: 150 g butter · 5 pcs egg whites · 150 g icing sugar · 100 g ground almonds · 60 g plain flour · 20 g honey · 1 pinch salt · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix the dry ingredients with the whites
Combine the icing sugar, both flours and the salt, pour in the unwhisked whites and the honey and whisk smooth. The whites are not beaten — this is not a sponge. Liquid whites give the dense, moist crumb that is the point of these cakes.
Ingredients: 150 g butter · 5 pcs egg whites · 150 g icing sugar · 100 g ground almonds · 60 g plain flour · 20 g honey · 1 pinch salt · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Whisk in the butter and vanilla
Pour in the warm butter in a thin stream, whisking continuously, and add the vanilla. The batter turns smooth and glossy, the consistency of pouring cream.
Ingredients: 150 g butter · 5 pcs egg whites · 150 g icing sugar · 100 g ground almonds · 60 g plain flour · 20 g honey · 1 pinch salt · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Smooth and glossy — the butter goes in in a thin stream.Chill the batter at least 45 minutes
Cover and refrigerate 45 minutes, ideally overnight. Meanwhile the almonds and flour absorb the liquid, and cold batter in a hot oven rises more in the centre, giving the characteristic dome.
Ingredients: 150 g butter · 5 pcs egg whites · 150 g icing sugar · 100 g ground almonds · 60 g plain flour · 20 g honey · 1 pinch salt · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Fill the moulds two-thirds full
Heat the oven to 200°C. Butter the moulds and fill them two-thirds of the way up. The batter rises strongly; full moulds overflow, the edges stick and the cakes will not come out whole.
Ingredients: 15 g butter
Two-thirds, no more.Bake briefly at high heat
Bake 13 minutes at 200°C, until the edges are deep gold and the centre still pale and slightly moist. The high heat is what makes a financier: a crisp edge and a soft interior. Overbaked they turn dry and ordinary. After 5 minutes turn them out onto a rack.
Ingredients: 150 g butter · 5 pcs egg whites · 150 g icing sugar · 100 g ground almonds · 60 g plain flour · 20 g honey · 1 pinch salt · 1 tsp vanilla extract
Before you start
Whites from the fridge
Financiers are a great way to use up the whites left over from yolk-based creams. Whites keep 2–3 days in an airtight container in the fridge or up to three months frozen — thawed, they work here as well as fresh.
Pistachio or raspberry
Replace 40 g of the ground almonds with ground pistachios, or press a single raspberry into each cake before baking. The fruit adds a tart note to a very buttery cake.
Three days, then reheat them
They are best on the first day; in an airtight container they keep 3 days. The butter in them firms up, so warm them for 3 minutes at 160°C before serving — they regain their crisp edges and softness.
