The Bankers' Financier Recipe

These small rectangular almond cakes (which look like little bars of gold) first gained popularity with ‘Banker types’ in the Parisian Financial District in the late 1800s; when you taste them you’ll see why. I should also say at this point (in the interest of transparency) I’m in banking, so is the person who first introduced me to financiers, and whilst they are a classic recipe (which has been knocking around since the 12th century) I did feel they could do with a touch of modernising from the 1890 Paris Stock Exchange version… Cue some whisky!

Prep Time: 30 Mins

Cook Time: 15 Mins

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 20 mini-financiers

Ingredients

  • Unsalted Butter - 45g

  • Almond Flour - 45g

  • Sugar - 45g

  • Flour - 15g

  • Egg Whites - 1 egg

  • Vanilla Paste - 1 tsp (or 0.5 tsp essence)

  • Salt - a pinch

  • Scotch Whisky - 50ml (about half a tsp per cake)

  • (optional) Edible gold dust to decorate

Specialist Equipment

  • Financier mould (or other small tart / muffin case mould)

Method

Financier Step One - Flour Power

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (200°C for non-fan ovens).

Combine in a bowl the almond flour, sugar, and flour.

 

Financier Step Two - Brown Butter

Add the butter to a pan and heat on low, stirring occasionally.

After a while the proteins in the butter will start to brown, once they reach a golden brown colour remove from the heat and pout into a bowl (to stop it cooking, it burns quite quickly).

 

Financier STEP Three - Lining

Use a little of the melted butter to brush / line the moulds.

 

Financier STEP Four - The Perfect Blend

Pour 20g of the melted butter, the vanilla paste, and the egg white into the bowl with the flour-sugar mix.

Stir the mix together using a spatula or spoon (you don’t need to whisk air into these cakes).

 

Financier STEP Five - Topping it Up

Fill each of the moulds three-quarters full. Try and get the filling as level as possible, to get the cakes risen evenly at the end of the bake.

Tap the tray down on the surface a few times to level out the filling.

Bake in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until they’re a very light golden colour.

 

Financier STEP SIX - The Bankers' Financier

the Bankers' Financier

Once cooked, remove the cakes from the oven. whilst still in the moulds, pour about half a teaspoon of the whisky over each (up to 1 teaspoon if you want them really alcoholic).

Remove the cakes from the moulds and top with a little gold dust (if using). Serve as soon as possible.

And that’s it, hope you enjoy!