Everyone always talks of Proustian madeleines but I’ve always been a bigger fan of financiers. Done right, the beurre noisette or ‘hazelnut butter’ essentially fries the little biscuits until you have a nice crispy exterior and a soft cake-like middle. And they last for a couple of days if you keep them in an airtight container. The best thing is that they are also gluten-free, so they’re suitable for those who can’t have gluten. The mixture also freezes well, so pop the unused half (see recipe) in the oven whenever unexpected guests arrive (or a midnight snack is needed!)
250 g/2 sticks unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
375 g/1¾ cups caster/superfine sugar
50 g/½ cup cornflour/cornstarch, plus extra for dusting
375 g/3 cups ground almonds
10 egg whites, lightly beaten
icing/confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
mini-muffin trays, or special financier moulds
2 large piping bags and 1 plain nozzle/ tip
makes about 48
To make the beurre noisette, put the butter in a large saucepan and cook over high heat until it reaches a boil. Lower the heat to medium–low and cook until most of the water has evaporated. Instead of smelling like cheese, it should start to smell like hazelnuts, and there should be small, brown crispy bits at the bottom of the pan. It can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.
Pour the liquid into a metal mixing bowl, being careful to leave the brown solids behind. Let cool for 20 minutes.
Put the sugar, cornflour/cornstarch and almonds in a large bowl and stir well. Fold in the egg whites until combined. Fold in the beurre noisette. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
In the meantime, grease the muffin trays or financier moulds and dust with cornflour/cornstarch. Grease again.
Preheat the oven to 180˚C (365˚F) Gas 6.
Fill one prepared piping bag with half the mixture and secure the ends with elastic bands to seal. Pop in the freezer and use in the future (defrost for 30 minutes before baking).
Fill the other prepared piping bag, fitted with a plain nozzle/tip, with the remaining mixture, and pipe each mini-muffin dimple almost to the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 170˚C (340˚F) Gas 5. Bake for another 7–15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and feel springy to the touch.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 1 minute before popping out of the trays. Dust with icing/confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Mocha variation: start the recipe as above, adding 1 tablespoon freshly ground coffee to the beurre noisette when you take it off the heat. After letting cool for about 20 minutes, strain it. Continue with the recipe, replacing the cornflour/cornstarch with cocoa powder. Dust cocoa powder over the baked financiers before serving.