Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Financiers
As all good things come to an end, so did my package of financiers (check out my last post for the full story). Unfortunately, this first attempt in recreating them turned out something of a semi-failure. Yes, they were in fact tasty little buggers, but no, they did not have the consistency I was looking for. A few things should have rang the alarm bells:
1. The recipe (see below) calls for "finely ground almonds," which I attempted to do using whole blanched almonds and a mini food processor. Apparently, my almonds were not ground finely enough, because the end result had a sort of cornmeal-y texture. I have since found almond flour and will use that on the next go around.
2. The recipe makes no mention of almond paste. This seemed a bit strange to me when every other recipe that I found used it, and furthermore, how was I to achieve the almond paste internal texture without it?
3. "5 to 6" egg whites is a lot, don't you think? I think this also contributed to the demise of my financier renditions since it caused the texture to be somewhat fluffy and airy. That is not what I was looking for. I was looking for almost underbaked density.
4. My crappy electric oven. I'm telling you, the temps indicated on the dial do not correspond to the temps in the oven. I've just about had enough of it, and can't wait for my Viking. Or, at least, move out of a rental apartment.
Well, here is the recipe that I used. Feel free to play around with it a bit. I'm definitely going to try again soon with new ingredients and different molds.
Almond Cakes (Financiers)
Recipe courtesy of "The Food Lover's Guide to Paris," Patricia Wells
2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter, melted, for buttering 21 financier molds
1 cup (140 g) finely ground almonds
1 2/3 cups (210 g) confectioners sugar
1/2 cup (70g) unbleached all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup (185 g) egg whites (5 to 6)
3/4 cup (6 ounces; 185 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Preheat the oven to 450°F(230°C).
With a pastry brush, use the 2 tablespoons melted butter to thoroughly butter the financier molds. Arrange them side by side, but not touching, on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet with the buttered molds in the freezer to resolidify the butter and make the financiers easier to unmold.
In a large bowl, combine the almonds, sugar, flour, and salt. Mix to blend. Add the egg whites and mix until thoroughly blended. Add the 3/4 cup butter and mix until thoroughly blended. The mixture will be fairly thin and pourable.
Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them almost to the rim. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven. Bake until the financiers just being to rise, about 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to 400°F(205°C). Bake until the financiers are a light, delicate brown and begin to firm up, about another 7 minutes. Turn off the oven heat and let the financiers rest in the oven until firm, about another 7 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the financiers cool in the molds for 10 minutes. Unmold. (Note: Wash molds immediately with a stiff brush in hot water without detergent so that they retain their seasoning.) The financiers may be stored in an airtight container for several days.
Makes 21 2 x 4-inch (5 x 10-cm) financiers.
Wait a sec -- do you notice something else wrong with the recipe? Look at the quoted yield: 21 financiers that are 2 x 4 inches? When have you ever seen a financier that large? I used mini muffin pans, and got about 30 of them. That's a definite add-to-my-alarm-bell-ringing-list issue.....
I'm going with Martha next time.
