Fancy Financiers

Pound cakes can be especially delicious but often times I find them a little too dense and flavorless for my taste. I usually serve pound cake crisped in a fry pan with a little melted butter and then topped with a fruit compote and lightly whipped cream but sometimes when I’m looking for an easy dessert to make, even that much effort is too much. Enter the financier. Financiers are to me, best described as a French pound cake. They contain almond flour which adds a tremendous depth of flavor to the cake but they are just as easy as pound cakes to make.

History has two theories on where the financiers originated. One school of thought is that since they were usually baked in rectangular pans that they resembled little bricks of gold and so were called financiers. The other school suggests that the financiers were first seen in the financial district of Paris where Parisian bankers on their lunch requested a pastry that was easy to eat and wouldn’t get their suits full of crumbs – voila la financier!

Financiers, in addition to being relatively simple to make, also allow for a lot of self-direction which is a nice thing to have in baking. Not only can you decide what type of fruit to top them with but you can also make them in any type of pan you like – Madeleine pans, a round cake pan, a tart pan or a wee-little tart pan, whatever you like; personally, I’m a fan of the tiny tart pan or a round cake pan that you can slice pieces of financiers from.


FRUIT FINANCIERS
Adapted from Nick Malgieri

3 ounces almond flour
3 ounces all purpose flour
6 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 ounces soft butter
1 tablespoon light rum
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
3 egg whites
½ cup to 1 cup fresh fruit such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, apricots or peaches

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray the inside of nine four inch tart pans, an eight inch cake pan, or whichever type of pan you are using, with a non-stick spray. Then, in a bowl of an electric mixer, combined almond flour, all purpose flour, sugar and lemon zest and mix with a paddle attachment till just combined. Add butter and mix for about two minutes. While the mixer is beating, add the vanilla and rum to the egg white. Then, add half of the egg white mixture to the batter and mix on a medium-speed for about two minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the rest of the egg white mixture.

The batter can be placed in the tins using either a spatula or a piping bag and don’t worry if the tops are not completely level, the cake with bake up and level itself for you. Place a maximum of three pieces of fruit on each of the tarts or if you are making a larger tart, scatter fruit across the top of the batter with restraint. If using peaches or apricots, be sure to peel and chop them in a medium-dice.

Bake in a 350F oven for about 35 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean for testing purposes. The cake can be served with whipped cream, ice cream, a fruit compote, or just by itself as a delicious tea cake.