Even when I’m happy with a recipe that I have, I am always willing to try new ones to see how they compare. This weekend, it was the world of financiers that I ventured into again.
The same type of baked good, the result was vastly different to what I had expected – not that this is a bad thing!
The usual recipe that I used to create these little golden delights (they are meant to be bars, but as I lack the equipment, I just use mini muffin tins) is one by Clotilde from the famous Chocolate and Zucchini blog, however, months ago I had seen a post by Bea at La Tartine Gourmande about the same mini-cake, though the recipe was quite different! The results looked amazing, so I wrote the recipe down in my little ‘must try’ book, and promptly forgot all about it.
Until this weekend. Whilst giving the pantry a bit of a clean out, I found a half-used packet of hazelnut meal and then recalled that Bea’s financier recipe called for this particular ingredient! Since I could think of no other way to use it up, I stopped cleaning and started baking 
The crumb is vastly different to my regular recipe, but both are delish and loved by my family
The texture of these is a lot thicker, cakier and slightly drier than Clotilde’s recipe, but they’re also softer on the outside as Clotilde’s always develop a sugary crust enveloping a fluffy, cloud-like interior. Whilst I wouldn’t call them a new favourite, I definetely do love these as well, and will keep both in my repetoire to be made again in the future
Plain Vanilla Financiers (from Bea at La Tartine Gourmande)
Ingredients (makes about 30 in mini muffin moulds)
4 egg whites at room temperature
1 cup almond meal
3 tbsp hazelnut meal
1/2 cup + 1 tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
135g butter
1 1/2 cup pure icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract or paste
1. Sift togeter flour and sugar, then mix in the almond and hazelnut meals.
2. Melt butter in a small saucepan, continuing to heat it till it browns. Filter out the milk solids using a coffee filter, then add the clarified liquid to the dry flour mix.
3. Beat the egg whites till foamy (just before the soft peaks stage), then add to batter and gently mix in till combined. Set aside to rest for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C, and prepare baking containers – if using financier moulds then butter then and dust them with flour. If using non-stick silicone moulds, just give them a very light brush with some room temperature butter. Spoon into moulds till 3/4 full, then bake for 15-20 minutes, or till tops are lightly golden.
5. Cool in the tin, then pop out and enjoy
Soft, thick and delicious, these would be the perfect treat for a tea party
[tags]financiers, friands, muffins, recipes[/tags]
