Financier — small almond-and-brown-butter cakes
Financiers are small, dense French cakes baked in rectangular moulds — made with almond flour, beurre noisette (browned butter), egg whites and sugar. They are named for their resemblance to small gold bars and were reputedly designed by Parisian patissiers in the 19th century for stockbrokers who could eat them without dirtying their fingers.
i. Origin & history
Financiers are the recipe most often used to clean out leftover egg whites in a professional kitchen — they make exquisite use of brown butter and the slight chewiness that egg whites give an almond cake.
ii. Ingredients
Makes 18 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust
- 150 g unsalted butter
- 60 g plain flour
- 100 g ground almonds
- 150 g icing sugar
- Pinch salt
- 6 egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Zest of 1 lemon
iii. Method
- Make beurre noisette: melt butter in a small pan; cook over medium heat until the foam subsides and the milk solids turn deep golden. Strain into a bowl. Cool.
- Heat oven to 200 °C. Grease small financier moulds.
- Mix flour, ground almonds, icing sugar and salt.
- Whisk in egg whites, vanilla and zest. Then pour in the cooled brown butter; whisk to combine.
- Fill each mould three-quarters. Bake 12-14 min until risen and deeply golden at the edges. Cool 5 min before unmoulding.
iv. Tips & common mistakes
- Use the freshest ingredients you can. The recipe relies on them.
- Read the method through first. Several steps must be ready in advance.
- Season patiently. Sweetness and salt are tuned at the end, not the start.
v. Variations
Chocolate financiers add cocoa. Raspberry financiers press a raspberry into each. Pistachio financiers use pistachio paste. Madeleines are the closely-related shell-shaped cousin.
vi. Common questions
What is financier?
Financier is small almond-and-brown-butter cakes, from french cuisine. They are named for their resemblance to small gold bars and were reputedly designed by Parisian patissiers in the 19th century for stockbrokers who could eat them without dirtying their fingers
Where is financier from?
Financier is from the french dessert tradition; the recipe and history are detailed above.
How long does financier keep?
See the storage note in the Quick facts panel: 5 days airtight.