Lemon Squeezey: Hazelnut Financiers

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Hazelnut Financiers


So, first things first, I'm sorry for my neglectful ways! I swear there is a good reason. The past few weeks have been a crazy jumble of last minute school projects, presentations and finals - and then, just when I thought I was done, BAM, I ended up going on the trip of a lifetime. Eight amazing (and totally unplanned) days in Paris, with four exceptional friends. 

Not Paris, Texas. Not Paris, Maine. Not Paris, Illinois or Kentucky, or Tennessee. 

Paris, France.

Guys, I had a pain au chocolat at least once a day. I ate cheese. I drank wine. I smothered things with so much butter and devoured countless chocolates. It was wondrous. 


This trip was so last minute, I barely had time to throw things haphazardly into a bag before I was sitting next to Tom on the plane, beyond excited and in utter disbelief. After a 7 hour flight (and 32 hours without sleep), roaming the streets of Paris felt like a dream. Definitely, without a single doubt, my greatest and most spontaneous adventure to date. 


Speaking of adventures ... one of the places I was most excited to visit, aside from all the places you would expect (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, Tuilleries ... all the stunning and magical tourist spots), was a 250 year old confectionery shop, À la Mère de Famille. Well, let me tell you - this pilgrimage led us through a rather shady part of town. Hand in hand, Tom and I walked along the overcrowded sidewalk, passing the questionable tattoo parlours and sketchy looking bars, armed only with our very limited French, and an umbrella. Well, we were determined to get to this place, so we marched on, keeping quiet so we wouldn't draw any more attention to our naive and touristy, English-speaking selves. Having survived this somewhat harrowing trek, we were rewarded with an unimaginable assortment of candy, chocolate, cookies, wines, cakes, and truffles. À la Mère de Famille is a magical place. Imagine Candyland, Paris-style. Antique furniture and crooked mosaic floors creaking under the weight of PILES of caramels and chocolate bars and lollipops and tuiles and sablés, and cakes and glacéed fruits...



And since I was lucky enough to have this experience, I thought I would try and share some of the magic with you guys in the form of these tender, nutty and buttery Hazelnut Financiers from the À la Mère de Famille book, which I am currently obsessed with. Financiers are little brown butter cakelets, named because their traditional shape is like a gold bar. They're similar to a moist sponge cake, and most recipes include almond flour or other ground nuts and lots of egg whites. This hazelnut version is a little different from the classic recipe, but it is deee-licious. Crisp on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, perfect with a cup of coffee, or if you're feeling extravagant, a café crème.

Hazelnut Financiers

Adapted from À la Mère de Famille


Kitchen Soundtrack: Court & Spark - Joni Mitchell (Yes, purely for the Free Man in Paris song.)

Makes 12 tiny cakes
Ingredients:
  • 100g or 3/4 cup hazelnuts
  • 90g or 6 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 150g confectioner's sugar
  • 60g or a scant 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp fine salt
  • 1 whole egg
  • 3 egg whites
A note about baking pans: Financiers are traditionally made in (drumroll please...) financier molds, which are rectangular pans, much like mini loaf pans only shallower. If you have these, by all means, use them! Your baking time will be 2-3 minutes shorter. I used a standard 12 cup muffin tin with good results. 

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400℉. Thoroughly grease a 12 cup standard muffin tin with butter. If you are using an uncoated pan, you may want to coat it lightly with flour also.
  2. Toast half of the hazelnuts (50g) until they are fragrant and golden brown, about 7 minutes. When you crack one open, it should be lightly coloured on the inside. I don't really like the flavor of the skins, so I rub them off, but it is not necessary. Roughly chop, or break them apart. (I usually put them in resealable plastic bag and hit them with the back of a wooden spoon until they are the size I want.)
  3. Reduce oven temperature to 375℉.
  4. Sift the confectioner's sugar, flour, baking powder and salt together.
  5. Grind the remaining hazelnuts into a powder in a food processor. Stir into the sugar mixture.
  6. Gently heat the butter in a small pot until it browns. You will see the butter foam up, then the milk solids will sink to the bottom and turn a rusty brown color. Remove the pot from the heat.
  7. When the butter is browned, whisk the egg and egg whites together until they have an even, pourable consistency.  Stir the egg mixture into the sugar mixture until evenly combined, then drizzle in the warm brown butter, stirring constantly.
  8. Fill the muffin cups about half way, sprinkle a few hazelnuts on top, then bake in the oven 13-16 minutes. The tops should be golden, and a skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.
  9. Allow to cool 1-2 minutes in the pan, then run a small knife or offset spatula around the edges of each financier and lift them out. Cool completely on a cooling rack. They supposedly keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days, but they don't last more than a day in my house...

2 comments:

  1. I just love how you went on a spontaneous trip to Paris. These look amazing, and you're making me very curious about brown butter with these recipes! XO

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    1. Thanks Caroline! Haha, for the past couple of weeks the most common thought running through my mind has been "Is this really my life?!"
      And brown butter is awesome: in cakes like here, but also on fish and over pasta. It smells pretty amazing while its cooking too.

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