Pistachio Raspberry Financiers

Pistachio Raspberry Financiers

What do you do when you are stressed out? You know it, I like to bake. I may not eat much of what I bake, but I just take a deep breath and enjoy the process. Having fond memories of my vacation in Paris, I felt the need to bake something French. When you think of French, you may think of fancy macarons, but I just wanted to make the deliciously simple – financiers, a French bakery staple. One of the best that I’ve had in Paris is from Hugo et Victor. Notice the beautiful crack on the top! (I don’t own an convection oven, so it was difficult to achieve a cracked surface.)

Financier from Hugo et Victor
They are buttery and soft with crispy and chewy edges. The almond flavour is so rich and sweet that they are just as good even in the absence of brown butter. Financiers are little cakes traditionally made with brown butter, egg whites, and almond flour, baked to golden colour. They are usually baked in small rectangular pans, like little bars of gold. This recipe was ironically inspired by a mediocre pistachio raspberry financier I had in Paris, it tasted like marzipan, and had a gooey underbaked middle. So I went on a mission to create better ones with the financier tins I hauled from Paris, making these pistachio raspberry financiers with seasonal local fruit. Welcome, summer!

Pistachio Raspberry Financiers

Yield: Makes about 12 financiers.

Ingredients

  • 140 g / 10 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 35 g / 6 tbsp almond flour
  • 35 g / 5-1/2 tbsp shelled pistachio nuts
  • 150 g / 1-1/3 cup icing sugar
  • 60 g / 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 120 g / 4 large egg whites
  • 15 g / 1 tbsp pistachio paste
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 65 g / 1/2 cup fresh raspberries (leave out if you want plain pistachio financiers)

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F / 205 C. Generously butter financier tins and dust with flour, tap out extra. Freeze tins until baking for best results.
  2. In a medium saucepan, heat butter until it turns into a golden colour, strain through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof container. Keep warm until mixing the batter.
  3. In a food processor, process almond flour, pistachio nuts, and icing sugar until very fine. Pulse in the flour.
  4. Transfer the dry mix into to medium mixing bowl, mix in baking powder, and salt. Add egg whites and mix with a silicone spatula until there is no dryness. Add warm liquid brown butter, pistachio paste, and vanilla extract. Mix until the batter is homogenized.
  5. Spoon batter into the moulds to about 80% full. Top with raspberries and bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until golden around the edges. *Alternatively you can place batter in a piping bag, chill in the cooler overnight, and pipe them into the tins before baking. Cool for about 5 minutes, unmould and cool on a rack. Dust with icing sugar if desired.

Notes

You can also bake these in mini muffin pans, and adjust baking time accordingly.

http://yummyworkshop.com/2016/06/26/pistachio-raspberry-financiers/

Pistachio Raspberry Financier

I love the texture of this financier. It is very tender and has a melt-in-your-mouth-quality. These are full of flavour with the combination of ground pistachio nuts and pistachio paste for a punch of taste and colour. I found the pistachio paste in a specialty store in Paris, but feel free to replace it with more pistachio nuts. The wonderful floral and fruity notes of raspberries added a delicious contrast. Although not an original idea, I am giving myself a pat on the back that I made them comparable to the excellent ones I’ve had in Paris! Go me!

More raspberry love from the blog:

Pistachio Raspberry Financier

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