Comments on: gluten-free chocolate financiers

By: Giovani

Giovani — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:16:58 +0000

Does anyone know why you can’t just use room temperature butter in place of melting it first and then letting it come back to room temperature?

By: Clair

Clair — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:17:49 +0000

One of my coworkers is gluten-intolerant and it struck me last week that he can’t eat anything I would (normally) bake. So I made these on Saturday and brought them into work. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone happier over a baked good — thanks so much for posting this!

By: Erika

Erika — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 02:12:13 +0000

I made these yesterday when I realized that I had all the ingredients in the house. Must make choc cookies now! However, the almond meal that I had still contained some of the skins. Very tasty when used as breading for chicken, etc, but not so tasty when caught in the teeth after inhaling your third cookie.
So I would suggest that folks make sure that their almond flour/meal be skin-free. Otherwise, a super easy and yummy way to use up some extra egg whites!

By: Susie

Susie — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 05:48:48 +0000

A bit of history via Sherry Yard, pastry chef at Spago. Financier (prononced “FEE-nan-ci-AY”) is a French word. It is actually a cake well-known in Europe. In addition to being fairly gluten-free (some flour–of whatever kind–is actually used in the cake to keep it together), it is also great for low cholesterol diets (except the butter!). The almond flour keeps it very moist. It keeps well since there is little air incorporated when mixing. It also uses powdered sugar, a high percentage of the ingredient total, which also increases the moisture. The master cake is the basis for other cakes–chocolate, gingerbread, pumpkin, and carrot cakes. Ms. Yard says that almond flour is made from almonds from which the oil has been pressed. I have been unable to find any almond flour made from almonds so pressed. She differentiates almond flour from almond meal, which is ground blanched almonds, or ground whole almonds. Check out Ms. Yard’s book, “The Secrets of Baking.”

By: Allison

Allison — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:14:04 +0000

I know this recipe has been up forever, but I seriously make these ALL the time. I originally made them for my friend who can’t eat gluten, but now I just make them for ME, because they’re incredible and require almost no ingredients AND take no time to make. What could be better??

By: Tiny Kitchen

Tiny Kitchen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 19:00:14 +0000

Okay, so I made these and while my gluten-free friend did not even taste one (she is pregnant and experiencing “morning sickness” all day well into her second trimester, poor thing) I ate at least four, which means I did indeed enjoy them immensely. Also, in light of the “flouring with flour” problem, I floured the cups with cocoa powder, which worked beautifully.

By: Tiny Kitchen

Tiny Kitchen — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:54:02 +0000

I’m having brunch with a gluten-free friend on Sunday. Normally, as brunch guest, I’d bake scones or muffines or something, but I plan on making these instead. I can’t wait to see her reaction! If all goes well, I’ll make these for Passover, too. Yay almond flour!

By: laura

laura — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:11:27 +0000

My husband has labeled these as addictive. I made them both with just egg whites and as brownies in a pan with whole eggs, regular sugar, and vanilla extract – we ended up liking them best as financiers – though the brownies were also good and a fun experiment. Thanks for the recipe!

By: Julia

Julia — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 06:36:26 +0000

I love chocolate and almond and these were super easy to make (with left over egg whites). But I accidentally put in only 1/2 C sugar (instead of 3/4) and the final product is definitely lacking in sweetness particularly since I used the natural cocoa (all I had -instead of dutch processed). So I added semi-sweet chocolate chips to the 2nd batch and they were definitely a lot better but still lacking…..in something. I’ll be making these again coz they are good – just have to experiment a bit more with them (and add the right amount of sugar next time!!). Thanks Deb.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:32:51 +0000

Do you think these could be used as a base for black-bottom cupcakes? (for my cheesecake-loving gluten free friend!)