Financier Cake with Salted Almonds
Financier Cake with Salted Almonds really seems like a fancy kind of cake, huh? It sounds sophisticated and French. And it is. But it’s also really easy to make and truly so delicious.
A long time ago, I worked at a bakery in San Francisco that made little financiers with caramelized hazelnuts dotted throughout. I loved them and still dream of them to this day. Fast forward to a couple of months ago when I met up with my friend Marion Ringborg to discuss a Brunch menu for our upcoming YouTube video (How to Make Brunch, out now!). When trying to come up with easy, springy recipes, I knew I wanted to make some sort of almond cake. I immediately thought of the financier recipe I used to make so long ago and decided it had to be done.
The ones we used to make were little cakes baked in silicone molds. I do not have any of those molds, just a muffin tin. When I tried to bake them in the muffin tin, I wasn’t getting the beautiful crispy edge I remembered. In a metal muffin tin, the cake sticks if you don’t use a liner, and if you do use liners, all the delicious crispy parts stick to the liners and you don’t get any. Also, I wanted this to be easy.
So I decided, why not just make one large cake? I sprinkled the top with salted almonds to emphasize the almond flavor of the cake. I don’t roast and salt the almonds myself; I get them from the grocery store, and I’m obsessed with them. They are so delicious, and buying them makes life so much easier.
One of my favorite things about this cake is that it lasts so well. Because of the high sugar and fat content and because of the almond flour, this cake stays moist for a really long time. It’s also almost impossible to overbake. You don’t want it a light golden color; you really want a deep golden brown.
Financier Cake with Salted Almonds
Ingredients
- 55 g Flour
- 85 g Almond Flour/Meal
- 160 g Powdered Sugar
- 1 g Salt
- 150 g Egg whites
- 170 g Butter
- 60 g Honey
- 100 g Roasted Salted Almonds chopped
Instructions
- In a saucepan over high heat, melt the butter. Stir continuously until it turns golden brown and gives off a nutty aroma.
- Remove from heat and keep stirring for another minute to help it cool slightly. It will darken in color even though it’s removed from the heat. This is good, the color should be a rich dark brown.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, almond flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, heat the egg whites and honey to 40°C (104°F). Do this by mixing them together in a bowl then placing that bowl over the top of a pot of boiling water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching that water.
- Stir continuously until the egg whites have come up the correct temperature then immediately take the bowl off the pot.
- Mix together the heated egg whites, honey, and dry ingredients until well combined.
- At this point the brown butter should still be liquid and warm but no longer hot. Ideally around 60°C (140°F). Gradually add the browned butter to the mixture while continuing to mix until smooth and fully incorporated.
- Allow the batter to rest overnight in the refrigerator
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease a cake mold and pour the batter into it. Sprinkle the chopped salted almonds over the top.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cake is deeply golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the mold for a few minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cooled, sprinkle powdered sugar over the top for decoration.