Raspberry Financiers

MOIST, GOLDEN FRENCH ALMOND CAKES WITH RASPBERRY COULIS AND POWDERED SUGAR.

These little guys are like cupcakes, but even better! They are traditionally made as rectangular bars to resemble bars of gold, hence the name financier. And although Boo and I have managed to collect molds of all sorts of shapes, we don’t expect everyone else to have a rectangular 6 x 3 cm mold at arm’s reach, so we decided to use a regular cupcake tin. Plus, I think they’re cuter round. Geometric differences aside, these moist, spongy almond cakes are absolutely satisfying, incredibly easy to make, and great with a cup of tea or coffee.

When you’re making these, you may want to mix gently to keep from incorporating too much air into the batter, otherwise they will deflate as they cool after baking. After breaking up the egg whites with a fork, I used a rubber spatula to mix the batter together, which worked out just fine. But other than for aesthetic reasons, this step can be optional.

For our financiers, we used raspberry, but almost any fruit with a hint of tartness – like blueberries, peach, or even passionfruit – would pair beautifully with the richness of the cake. Be warned: they’re addictive. Thank goodness this recipe only makes 10! – Pea

Yield: 10 financiers
Difficulty: 

Oven: 400 F, 6 minutes; 350 F, 14 minutes

Preparation:

• Grease 10 small cupcake molds, or line with cupcake wrappers.

Almond cake:

• 1 stick butter
• 4 egg whites
• Dry ingredients
  0.5 c sugar
  1 c almond meal
  0.33 c flour
• 2 tb honey
• 10 raspberries

1. In a small saucepan, heat and stir butter over medium heat until browned. Pour into a bowl, and set aside to cool slightly.
2. In a mixing bowl, lightly stir together dry ingredients, egg whites, and honey until homogenized.
3. Gently stir butter into egg mixture.
4. Divide batter into prepared molds or cupcake wrappers. Place a raspberry in the center of each with the cavity facing up.
5. Bake at 400 F, 6 minutes. Lower to 350 F, and bake ~14 minutes until cooked through. Meanwhile, make raspberry coulis.

Raspberry coulis:

• 3 oz raspberries
• 1.5 tb sugar
• 2 tb water

1. In a small saucepan, stir and mash ingredients over medium heat until thickened, 10-12 minutes.
2. Press through a strainer, and discard seeds.
3. Using a small round tip, pipe coulis into the centers of financiers.
4. Serve warm.

*recipe inspired by Bruno Albouze