The Gift of Goodness

Browned Butter Financier Cake

Financiers are wonderful petite French cakes. They are also called Friands, which fittingly means “dainty or tasty”. This rich, caramelly-tasting cake is typically baked in tiny rectangular pans, which have been said to resemble little bars of gold. When I was creating recipes for my novel Wren Bay, The Story of Making a Home, I wanted my heroine, Wren, to have a special wedding cake. Something French (that her Madam Mimi would bake), something untraditional (since Wren never does anything the traditional way) and something beautiful (for Wren always appreciates all the beauty around her). I love Financiers because they are a rich, moist cake full of browned butter, lots of egg whites and almond flour. I decided to create a Financier cake for Wren, baked in a small bunt pan to represent a crown. Madam Mimi served the cake under a dome of spun sugar and a wreath of flowers around its base. Perfect for Wren and Devlin’s simple garden wedding!

What really gives this cake its flavor is the browned butter. Browning butter is a technique I think many cooks overlook. I do not know about you, dear reader, but I am on a tight budget and am always looking for ways to take basic ingredients and make more of them. Browning butter is a way of taking butter to a whole new level without having to spend more money. When you sauté butter eventually the milk solids and sugars brown and caramelize. Look for the butter to smell nutty, caramelly with bits of brown flecks in the bottom of your pan under the foam. Browned butter is wonderful on pasta with veggies and fresh herbs or drizzled over roasted chicken or spooned over a bowl of oatmeal with a little brown sugar. I encourage you to learn how to brown butter. It is not hard but may take a few tries till you get it down.

In keeping with the French theme of the cake, I thought a simple handmade cloth that looks like an old French grain sack would be perfect wrapped around this cake with a length of rosemary twisted into a small wreath. If you do not have fresh rosemary, a zinc tag would also give the cake a French feel. These little touches will create a gift that will make the receiver feel well loved.

Enjoy, Clarice

Browned Butter Financier Cake
Makes one loaf or small bunt cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup almond flour
½ cup spelt or whole wheat pastry or all-purpose white flour
1 ½ cup powdered sugar*, I used evaporated cane and ran it through a processor to powder it
instead.
½ teaspoon salt
6 egg whites, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract, if you want a stronger almond flavor add ½ teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

To make the Beurre Noisette (or browned butter), place butter in a fry pan set on med-high heat. When butter has melted and come to a boil, swirl pan occasionally. Butter will start to foam. Watch for milk solids to turn deep golden brown and the butter will smell caramelly, nutty. Stay with the butter during the whole process because it can burn. Immediately scrape all the butter into a bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven 350°F

Butter a loaf pan (you can also use a small bunt pan but will have to make a different sized cloth to wrap around the cake) generously.

In a large bowl, whisk together flours, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in egg whites. Slowly whisk, starting in center and pulling flour into the batter from the sides. When thoroughly mixed add almond extract and butter slowly, whisking until all the butter is incorporated. You should have a thick batter. Pour into prepared pan and bake about 1 hour, until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes and unmold. Cool completely before enjoying.

*Note : About the sugar, I normally try to bake with the least amount of sugar I can. In this case the amount of sugar is important to the structure and moisture of the cake. It also gives it a crunchy crust. You could decrease the sugar but you will end up with a cake with a different texture.

Do NOT take your eyes off the butter because it can go from browned to burnt really quickly. Also as soon as your butter is browned pour it (making sure you scrape down all the bits) into a bowl so the butter does not continue to cook.

Packaging:

Cut a 15x15-inch square of plain linen. A simple way to cut an even square is to measure and cut the width of the linen, then fold the cloth across the fabric and cut. I left the edges raw, pulling off extra threads to fringe the edge. If you are making a lot of these, you want to keep it simple and quick. But you could certainly finish the edges; just add a ½-inch seam allowance.

Paint lines: Take painter masking tape and set on each side of the center line. I find thin lines look more authentic. Then dab paint down in-between tape lines (you can also use permanent marker). Keep the paint light, with some fabric showing in spots. Let dry and repeat with one or two more lines on each side of the center line.

Wrap cake: Lay cloth painted side down and fold in the two unpainted corners, to make a long straight piece. Wrap cloth around the middle of the loaf cake and knot the cloth. Feel free to add a zinc tag and rosemary wreath or whatever suits your fancy.

Tagged as: butter, cake, financier, homemade Comments Off

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