Financiers got their name from the gold bar shape they were baked into by the baker selling these to greedy traders (no pun intended) next to the Paris stock exchange. If gold can buy decadence, these almond delicacies are decadence - sweet, dense and immensely rich. Add the ethereal and subtly floral notes of jasmine green tea and you get the perfect treat for the most refined and luxurious afternoon tea.
Jasmine green tea flavoured financiers
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Recipe by: Anne-Laure at Tasty Diaries Busy:40 min, Total prep time: 1H30 min (plus overnight chilling) Serves: makes between 25 and 30 small financiers |
Chop the butter into even chunks and toss them into a large saucepan, you want to maximise the boiling surface. Melt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally.
After a few minutes, the butter will start boiling as its water content starts evaporating. Keep the occasional stir.
Once all the water has evaporated, the boiling will subside and a lovely toasted, nutty scent will start emanating from the pan. Keep heating and stirring until the butter takes a deeper shade and the small solid milk particles that have appeared during the heating process turn golden. Take off the heat and allow the butter to slowly cool down in the pan. If you keep heating the butter past this point, it will become dark brown and the small particles will burn, giving the butter a strong bitter taste. Would you unfortunately get there, throw the butter away and start over.
Make the financiers:
Sift together the flour, almond, sugar, and tea.
Stir in half the egg whites until no dry ingredients remain. With an electric mixer, whisk in the remaining egg whites until obtaining a smooth dough. Stir in the warm, melted brown butter with a spatula until reaching a homogenous batter.
Store in the fridge in a sealed container overnight. If you have a piping bag, pour the batter into it before storing it in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 210 degrees C.
Using a financier mould with shallow rectangular cavities (or alternatively a muffin mould), pipe or spoon a bit of dough into each cavity. If spooning, use two spoons to make the process easier. Don't drop too much dough into each cavity, financiers are flat cakes so 1 cm dough height is plenty.
Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges start browning. If using a tin mould, unmould the financiers 1 minute after taking out of the oven. If using a silicone mould, wait for 10 min before unmoulding.
Serve with tea and fresh berries for a most decadent afternoon tea. VoilĂ !
Prepare the brown butter (beurre noisette):
Chop the butter into even chunks and toss them into a large saucepan, you want to maximise the boiling surface. Melt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally.
After a few minutes, the butter will start boiling as its water content starts evaporating. Keep the occasional stir.
Once all the water has evaporated, the boiling will subside and a lovely toasted, nutty scent will start emanating from the pan. Keep heating and stirring until the butter takes a deeper shade and the small solid milk particles that have appeared during the heating process turn golden. Take off the heat and allow the butter to slowly cool down in the pan. If you keep heating the butter past this point, it will become dark brown and the small particles will burn, giving the butter a strong bitter taste. Would you unfortunately get there, throw the butter away and start over.
Make the financiers:
Sift together the flour, almond, sugar, and tea.
Stir in half the egg whites until no dry ingredients remain. With an electric mixer, whisk in the remaining egg whites until obtaining a smooth dough. Stir in the warm, melted brown butter with a spatula until reaching a homogenous batter.
Store in the fridge in a sealed container overnight. If you have a piping bag, pour the batter into it before storing it in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 210 degrees C.
Using a financier mould with shallow rectangular cavities (or alternatively a muffin mould), pipe or spoon a bit of dough into each cavity. If spooning, use two spoons to make the process easier. Don’t drop too much dough into each cavity, financiers are flat cakes so 1 cm dough height is plenty.
Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges start browning. If using a tin mould, unmould the financiers 1 minute after taking out of the oven. If using a silicone mould, wait for 10 min before unmoulding.
Serve with tea and fresh berries for a most decadent afternoon tea. VoilĂ !
You can also make these financiers plain (take out the tea) or bake them with fresh berries dotting the dough. Also, try replacing the almonds with ground hazelnuts or pistachios. All these versions are wonderful.
Don't know what to do with your leftover egg yolks? Freeze them with their weight in sugar for future use (egg yolks don't freeze on their own), make sure to write the sugar weight on the container so you remember how much needs to be taken off from your recipe when you use them. Alternatively, make your weekend a sweet one by using the yolks in cremes brulées the next day!
Don't know what to do with your leftover egg yolks? Freeze them with their weight in sugar for future use (egg yolks don't freeze on their own), make sure to write the sugar weight on the container so you remember how much needs to be taken off from your recipe when you use them. Alternatively, make your weekend a sweet one by using the yolks in cremes brulées the next day!
Ingredients
190 g butter
75 g almond
75 g flour
225 g icing sugar
1-1/4 tablespoon finely ground jasmine green tea
190 g egg white (white of about 5 large eggs)
4 drops almond extract
190 g butter
75 g almond
75 g flour
225 g icing sugar
1-1/4 tablespoon finely ground jasmine green tea
190 g egg white (white of about 5 large eggs)
4 drops almond extract
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