Crispy Outside, Chewy Inside! Basic Financier Recipe Bursting with Butter Flavor
Crispy Outside, Chewy Inside! Basic Financier Recipe Bursting with Butter Flavor
Easy Home Baking: Master the Classic Financier with Rich Butter Aroma – A Beginner-Friendly Recipe
Learn how to make basic financiers at home that are wonderfully crispy on the outside and delightfully chewy on the inside, with an intense butter aroma that fills your mouth. This recipe is adapted from HOYA’s original, tweaked to my personal taste after trying many variations – it’s my go-to recipe because it’s simply the most delicious! This version tends to be on the sweeter side, so keep that in mind. (While the original recipe uses all-purpose flour, I prefer using cake flour.)
Basic Financier Ingredients- 50g Cake Flour (or 50g All-Purpose Flour)
- 48g Almond Flour
- 124g Egg Whites
- 126g Powdered Sugar
- 125g Unsalted Butter (before browning)
- 12g Honey
- 2g Vanilla Extract
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
The very first step is to prepare your financier molds by coating them thoroughly with butter, a process called ‘Schmieren’ in some contexts. You can melt butter and brush it on, or for a more hands-on approach like mine, place a piece of butter in the mold and use a gloved hand to rub it all over. You can skip dusting with flour afterwards.
Step 2
Next is the crucial step of browning the butter to develop a rich hazelnut-like aroma. For this, take 125g of unsalted butter (I use Elle & Vire) and gently heat it over low heat, stirring constantly, until it turns a light brown color. Browning the butter evaporates moisture, reducing its weight by about 20%, so the browned butter should weigh around 100g.
Step 3
Be observant during the browning process. Once the butter starts to turn brown, its color will deepen very quickly, and it can burn easily. Remove it from the heat precisely when it reaches your desired color. Even after removing it from the heat, the hot butter will continue to cook. To stop the browning immediately, plunge the pan into cold water.
Step 4
Strain the browned butter through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any browned bits at the bottom. You can brown the butter to a deeper color if you prefer a more intense flavor. Dip the pan briefly in cold water for a few seconds to halt the cooking.
Step 5
Financiers are made using only egg whites. Gently whisk 124g of egg whites in a bowl until slightly frothy. If you have leftover egg yolks, they are perfect for making Galettes Bretonnes, which I’ll share a recipe for soon!
Step 6
In the bowl with the whisked egg whites, add 126g of powdered sugar, 12g of honey, and 2g of vanilla extract. Whisk everything together until well combined. It might seem like it’s not mixing at first, but keep whisking, and it will smooth out beautifully.
Step 7
Sift 50g of cake flour (or all-purpose flour) and 48g of almond flour into the mixture. Gently whisk until the batter is smooth and glossy.
Step 8
Gradually incorporate the browned butter, which should be around 55-60°C (131-140°F), into the glossy batter in two additions. Mix gently until everything is well combined and emulsified.
Step 9
Wrap the finished batter tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The resting time can vary from 30 minutes to 2 hours. While financiers bake well without resting, chilling helps to achieve a better shape and texture. If you’re in a hurry, you can bake them immediately.
Step 10
Fill your prepared molds with the chilled batter. Bake in a preheated oven at 230°C (450°F) for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 180°C (350°F) and bake for another 11 minutes. Once baked to a beautiful golden brown, immediately transfer the financiers to a wire rack to cool completely, ensuring that perfect crispy and chewy texture.
