Delicious Fig Financiers are the perfect one bite dessert. This financier recipe is a version of French almond cakes made with brown butter, almond flour, and sweet, soft Mission figs. Read on to learn tips about how to make this recipe for financiers.
Tips for Making This Fig Financier Recipe
Brown butter adds a nutty and caramel taste to the cakes. If you’ve never made brown butter before, it’s a small step that adds a lot of character. The brown sugar adds a hint of molasses and the cinnamon adds a warm slightly spicy note. Orchard Choice and Sun-Maid California Dried Mission Figs are the star of the show.
The Mission Figs are sweet with a slight spicy and smoky flavor that pairs really well with the nutty caramel notes of the almond cakes. When you bite into the cake it’s the perfect combination of chewy soft fig and moist tender cake. It will be one of the best financier cakes you’ve ever tasted.
What is a Financier
A financier is a small French almond tea cake typically made with almond flour and egg whites. This recipe for financiers is simple to make and can be ready in less than an hour.
How to Make This Recipe for Financiers
Start by browning the butter. Once the milk solids have turned a dark golden brown pour the brown butter into a bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature. Watch the butter carefully as it starts to brown. If the milk solids turn very dark or almost black they’re burnt and will leave a bitter after taste if used.
Once the brown butter is cool, preheat the oven to 375F. Brush the wells of a 24 mini muffin pan with melted butter. Sift the flour, brown sugar and the almond together. Brown sugar and almond flour tend to clump (or form lumps) so sifting will remove the lumps and ensure a smooth batter.
Whisk the egg whites until foamy then mix then fold them into the dry ingredients. Add the brown butter and fold into the batter until completely mixed.
Divide the batter evenly between the mini muffin wells. Top each unbaked cake with half a fig. Bake until the edges are golden brown. Allow the cakes to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin then remove them from the pan and cool on a cake rack. Enjoy them with coffee or your favorite tea.
Store the cakes for up to 3 days in an airtight container and in the refrigerator for up to week.
Fig Financiers
Equipment
- 24 cup nonstick muffin pan
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter , + 1 tablespoon for the muffin pan
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (112g) almond flour
- 1/4 cup (32g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 large (120g) egg whites , room temperature
- 12 Orchard Choice or Sun-Maid Mission Dried Figs , cut in half lengthwise
Instructions
Make the Brown Butter
- Cut the butter into 8 pieces and place it in a 2 or 3-quart saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and melt the butter. As the butter melts, the milk solids will rise to the top and the butter will occasionally bubble and pop. If it is popping a lot to the extent that butter splatters onto the stove top, reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Continue to cook the butter, stirring occasionally until the milk solids drop to the bottom of the pan. The butter will turn golden brown and the milk solids will turn brown. Stir the butter, scrapping the bottom so the milk solids (brown particles) don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Once the milk solids have turned golden brown, pour the browned butter into a wide bowl and allow it to cool until it is just barely warm.
Make the Financier Batter
- Once the butter has cooled, start making the financier batter.
- Separate the eggs and place the egg whites in a medium sized bowl.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Melt one tablespoon of butter and brush the wells of a non-stick mini muffin pan.
- Sift the almond flour, brown sugar and all-purpose through a medium-coarse strainer into a large bowl. If there are any large pieces left after sifter press them through the strainer with a large tablespoon. Since brown sugar and almond flour tend to form clumps sifting is necessary to break them up and will result in a smooth batter. Add the kosher salt and ground cinnamon to the almond flour mixture and whisk to combine the ingredients.
- Whisk the egg whites until they’re foamy. Add them to the dry ingredients and use a spatula to mix the egg whites into the dry ingredients. Scrape the bottom repeatedly to ensure all the dry ingredients are mixed in.
- Add the brown butter and mix the butter into the batter until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin wells. Place a fig half on top of each financier. Bake the financiers for 12-14 minutes, until the cakes have risen slightly and the edges are dark brown.
- Remove the pan from the oven and allow the cakes to cool in the muffin cups for 10 minutes. Use an offset spatula to remove the cakes from the muffin cups. Place them on a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
