The last month or so has brought about many changes. It seems that we’ll now be living and working in the sunny state of California! As we settle into our new lives here, memories of our good times in Ireland and France pop up once in a while.

These financiers for instance were made when we were still in France. Given the hectic days of packing, unpacking and packing again including a short trip to Dublin to sort out our papers, I never got around to putting this recipe up here. And now as I write about it, it brings back sweet memories of the lovely French countryside. I can’t wait to go back there already!

I love walking into cookware stores when I travel, picking up a baking tray here, a pasta maker there, a plate here or a glass there. That’s how I ended up buying a financier pan. I’d been looking for a sturdy metal one for a while but could only find ones made of silicon everywhere (not a big fan of silicon bakeware!). So when I wandered into a little kitchen store in the centre of Amboise in the Loire valley, I knew I had to get this financier mold when I saw it.

In my first attempt, I used a Gordon Ramsay recipe for financiers but was not too happy with the results. The recipe (not available online anymore apparently) was heavy on ground almonds that left the financiers quite dense instead of meltingly soft.  The second time round, I gave this Dorie Greenspan recipe a spin. If you are after soft spongy little almond cakes and would also like to learn the origins of this little wonder, then do check out her website.

Financiers (original recipe from Dorie Greenspan, can be found here)

Ingredients – Makes 12 financiers

180g butter

200g sugar

100g ground almonds

6 large egg whites

90g plain flour

Method

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and let it cook on a medium heat until it turns deep brown in colour.  This contributes to the financiers’ nutty flavour.

Mix the sugar and ground almonds in another saucepan. Mix in the egg whites. Place the pan over low heat and let it cook, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture is slightly white and runny. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the flour followed by the melted butter and mix it thoroughly. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, cover it with clingfilm pressing it onto the surface of the batter and let it refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 200C (conventional). Butter and flour your financier mold. Fill each mold with batter. Place in the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the financiers have a nice golden colour with crispy borders. Depending on the size of your financier pan, you may have to do this in turns.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before turning out the financiers and letting them cool down on cooling racks.

These buttery, spongy, almondy cakes are perfect finger food for your cup of tea or coffee, so go on and try it out if you haven’t already!