Pistachio & Raspberry Financiers

Pistachio & Raspberry Financiers

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I’m backkkkkk! Sorry for the month hiatus, it wasn’t intentional! Who knew January was so busy!? I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year though! I’m back with a french classic and one of my favourite treats ever! A pistachio & raspberry financier.

pistachio & raspberry financiers

I first came across the financier when I worked in London Bridge. I used to walk through Borough Market on my lunch break and would have to fight the urge to buy everything!! My favourite stall there was called Comptoir Gourmand and they sold the most wonderful array of french cakes and pastries, including a vibrant green pistachio financier. It was the best thing, my mouths watering even thinking of it!

I love the dense moist texture, and the pistachio flavour just works so well. I’d always had it on my mental ‘to-bake’ list and I finally ticked it off last week! So a little history lesson for you here, the financier was created by a Parisian baker who worked in the financial district of the city. He wanted to create a bake for his customers that they could eat on the go and wouldn’t be crumbly and messy like a croissant. And so the financier was born. The name makes sense now right? Just to add to their banking background they are also traditionally made in a rectangular shape to resemble a ‘gold bar’. Obviously, this only really works if you stick to the original recipe and don’t turn them green!

pistachio & raspberry financiers

Pistachio and raspberry is one of my favourite flavour combinations, and the fresh raspberries in these financiers give such a tart hit. Financiers are actually really easy to make, and you can keep the dough chilled in the fridge for up to three days which is perfect if you want to prep ahead. And means you can impress visitors by having a fresh batch of cakes whipped up in minutes! I made 12 small cakes, but you could make 6 large instead – and actually I think next time I would just make the 6. Quality over quantity ya know?

pistachio & raspberry financiers

For the recipe I used a 50:50 ratio of ground almonds and ground pistachios. As I was adapting a recipe I didn’t want the pistachio’s higher fat content to change the bake too much. Now I’ve not seen ground pistachios in any supermarkets round me (though I have seen Sainsburys stocking ground hazelnuts which is exciting!), so I just blitzed my own. I was worried that the nuts might release too much oil as I blitzed, but actually it was fine and got to the same consistency as supermarket ground almonds really quickly.

One key step to the financiers is to brown the butter, which essentially means to heat the butter in a saucepan until it turns a golden brown colour. This gives a wonderfully nutty flavour to the bake which I think is so unique.

pistachio & raspberry financiers

I think these are a delight with a cup of tea on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The perfect bake for the miserably cold days we’ve been having recently!

pistachio & raspbeery financiers

Pistachio & Raspberry Financiers

Aimee Field
The classic French cake, in pistachio form! Filled with raspberries these are a great afternoon snack!
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Course Cakes
Cuisine French
Servings 12 Cakes

Ingredients
  

  • 120 g unsalted butter diced
  • 50 g ground almonds
  • 50 g ground pistachios
  • 25 g plain flour
  • 125 g icing sugar
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 4 large egg whites
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 12 raspberries quartered
  • 20 g pistachios chopped

Instructions
 

  • Heat the butter in a small pan over a medium heat and cook until the butter has foamed and then turned golden brown. This will take a little while, so stick with it. Pour the browned butter into a small heatproof bowl and set aside.
  • Put the ground almonds, ground pistachios, flour, icing sugar and salt in a bowl and mix together until combined. Then add the egg whites and vanilla extract and stir to form a thick paste. Pour in the slightly cooled butter and stir until you have a smooth batter. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the batter and put into the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours before baking.
  • Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 6 and lightly grease your mini-loaf pans or place your mini-loaf cases onto a baking tray. Spoon the batter evenly into the pans/cases, filling them half full. Press 4 quarters of a raspberry into each financier and top with chopped pistachios. Bake for 12-15 minutes until they have started to brown around the edges. Leave to cool in the pans for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely, or just place the cases onto the wire rack straight away to cool.

Notes

Batter can be kept covered in the fridge for up to three days before baking.
Financiers keep up to two days in an air tight container, but taste best on the day of baking.
 
Keyword afternoon tea, financier, mini cake, pistachio, Raspberry,


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