Baking with Marianne

Ever since I discovered financiers a few years ago, I make these petite cakes on a regular basis. Financiers are such delicious cakes that are very simple to make and made in no time. They are also a good way to to use up leftover egg whites which I happen to have all the time in the fridge. I like making different kinds of financiers such as my hazelnut financiers. The recipe that I want to share with you today is a fancy financier version. I topped the little vanilla flavored cakes with a fruit mousse. I love this financier version a lot and it taste - of course - delicious, too. I wish I could tell you that this genius cake idea is mine but it is not. A while ago, I had the opportunity to work in a Michelin restaurant and among others, these financiers were served as petit fours before the dessert course. I thought this was such a brilliant idea and it looked so pretty that I had to recreate this myself. The financiers in the restaurant were glazed with a fondant icing which I think is not necessary because the financiers are sweet enough and no extra sweetness is needed. And the financiers were decorated with red currants which I replaced with mint leaves. I think these financiers are such wonderful petit fours. If you crave just a little sweet something and do not want an entire slice of cake in the afternoon this is such a lovely alternative. You can top the financiers with different fruit flavored mousses. I made different batches of these financiers that I topped with cassis and strawberry mousse but feel free to use any fruit puree that you like. I imagine that a raspberry mousse topping would taste delicious as well. The great thing about these financiers is that you make them in advance and freeze the little cakes in an container lined with parchment paper (see my photo below). It takes only about ten minutes to defrost the petite cakes. And voilà, you have a sweet treat at any time or serve these petite cakes for unexpected guests. Makes 20 small financiers *

VANILLA FINANCIERS

• 65 g / 4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 65 g / 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 20 g / 3 tablespoons pastry flour
• 45 g / 1/2 cup almond flour
• 65 g egg whites / equals egg whites of two medium sized eggs
• Seeds of 1/2 vanilla bean
• Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 365 °F.
• Make the beurre noisette. Place the butter in a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and let the butter simmer until the butter turns amber brown. Set aside. 
• Place the powdered sugar, pastry flour, almond flour and the seeds of the vanilla bean in a medium sized bowl. Mix well.
• Whisk the the egg whites lightly, add to the flour mixture and stir well. 
• Add the beurre noisette little by little to the mixture and mix well. 
• Fill the financier batter into a piping bag and pipe the batter into the financier moulds. 
• Bake the financier for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges of the financier are slightly golden in color. 
• Let the financiers cool. 

STRAWBERRY / CASSIS / RASPBERRY MOUSSE

• 25 g / 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 15 g / 1/2 ounce white chocolate, chopped
• 40 g / 3 1/2 tablespoons fruit puree (strawberry, cassis, raspberry)
• 1 sheet of gelatin (1,5 g), soaked
• 50 g / 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and bring it almost to a boil. Set the saucepan aside, add the white chocolate, fruit puree and gelatin and mix well. 
• Pour the mixture through a sieve and let it cool to room temperature. 
• Whip the heavy cream until creamy and fold the heavy cream into the fruit mixture. 
• Fill the mousse into a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle ( 9 mm / 0,3 inch). Let the mousse chill in the fridge for about one hour. 
• Pipe three dollops of mousse on each financier and decorate each financier with a mint leave. 
• Keep the financiers in the fridge until consumption. 
• The financiers freeze very well, let the little cakes defrost at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then keep the financiers in the fridge.