A firm believer in the jinx-ing gods, I always pause before I say these kinds of things, but I have a pretty good life both out- and inside of the kitchen. Food is my friend. The only things holding me back from eating everything and anything in the whole world are, in descending order, my pickiness and my waistband. I don’t know what it means to have food make me consistently sick. (Well, except Spaghetti Carbonara. But that story for a different time, or on second thought, never.) I scour ingredient lists because I don’t trust them, but not because my life could depend on it. I can eat all of the bread, pasta and cake, glorious cake that I want. And it is these things I have been thinking about since I dug into Gluten-Free Girl this weekend, the new book by the food blogosphere’s own Shauna James Ahern, someone I had the fortune to meet, along with her Chef, Danny, and other friends last weekend.
I first learned about celiac disease from an old coworker who had it. “What do you mean you don’t eat no cookies?” I would joke in mock-Aunt Toula tone because it was just that absurd to me that he would be the only person in our whole department to not eat my baked goods with glee. It came back on my radar through my friend Joc’s coworkers, Kim and Kelly and their site, Celiac Chicks, but I still didn’t really get it. No flour, I’d think? More flourless chocolate cake, then! Big deal.
Oy, naivete stings in hindsight, doesn’t it? As it turns out, gluten allergies are a huge deal, affecting an estimated one percent of the population, and according to the NIH, the single most under-diagnosed disease in the world. Gluten is the elastic protein in wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and possibly oats, and celiac is an intestinal disorder where the body attacks these foods as if they were a virus. Of course, in our foggily food-sourced world, avoiding gluten is a labyrinth: gluten hides menacingly in almost every processed food, disguised as modified food starch, hydrolyzed vegetable oil, caramel color, dextrin, and even natural flavors. The mold in blue cheeses often started on bread. A breadcrumb could make Shauna sick for three days.
But her book is not a sob story. In fact, it’s just gorgeous, and in the kind of synchrony that seems to be happening all too often to me lately, Alex and I were wandering around downtown on Saturday and paused at an adorable pastry shop called Financier on Stone Street. We split a chocolate financier and I immediately declared them to be my new favorite baked good: cakier than a cookie, richer thank cake, more delicate than a brownie and just the perfect size, I vowed to make them at home soon.
Little did I know that Gluten Free Girl has a gluten-free version of them on page 47. They took 30 minutes to make, batter to cooling rack. They take much less time to grow fiercely addicted to.
One year ago: Spinach Quiche, Dominican Beans and Granola
Go Orange: Though the official campaign has ended, I do hope that you consider donating to The Food Bank’s NYC Goes Orange Campaign to help them raise funds for the holiday season. I don’t want my redecorating efforts to be for nothing!
Gluten-Free Chocolate Financiers
Gluten-Free Girl, via David Lebovitz
Makes 15 one-inch cookies
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup almond flour*
4 tablespoons Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup egg whites (approx. two large)
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease and flour financier molds or mini-muffin tins. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and set it aside until it reaches room temperature.
Mix the almond flour with the cocoa powder, salt, and powdered sugar. Stir the egg whites and almond extract into the almond mixture, then gradually stir in the melted butter until incorporated and smooth. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them three-quarters full.
Bake the financiers for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cookies are slightly puffed and springy to the touch. Remove them from the oven and let cool completely before removing the financiers from the molds.
Once cooled, financiers can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
* I made this by pulsing blanched almonds in the food processor until they were reduced to a powder. However, if you can find it in the store, the texture will be less gritty (the best I could do was a cornmeal consistency). Either work.
Yum! I love things that are gluten free, not because of health, but because it means that the person cooking the item had to be creative with the food. It takes a lot of energy (more than I have) to make something taste like the original without bogging it down with chemicals.
I’m passing this recipe on to my sister because my brother-in-law is a has celiac’s. He’ll LOVE it since he’s often the one going, “Bah, flour!”
Awwww they’re gonna love this! So good to shout-out an increasingly common allergy! Like I have always said to my girls at work–Wheat Free is Sexy!!
This by no means, means that you’re off grounding for missing URTC. I am still thinking of the appropriate punishment. Mmmmmmm??? Or maybe a reward is called for? I smell Empanadas!!
FYI – if you grind the almonds with the powdered suger for about 10 minutes you will end up with a pretty fine powder. This works well for macaroons, too.
It’s weird you should talk about this, a cousin of mine was just diagnosed with gluten allergies. The financiers look delicious.
your photos always amaze me. Not sure if you knew that I featured you ahile back on Today’s Creative Blog. http://todayscreativeblog.blogspot.com
I now have a blinkie for all feature creative blog bloggers. If you’d like one, please email me at krjdemmon[at]comcast[dot]com
Wowie, second almond flour I’ve run across this week. I have bought almond flour (finely ground almonds) at my local farmer’s market in Northern California. Since I’ve moved across country they just don’t grow almonds out here! I’ve resorted to calling ahead of time when I visit my folks and having a large supply on the plane ride home, or ordering from King Arthur flour’s website. It’s easier to order from the website. Otherwise if your farmer’s market carries ground almonds it’s most likely with the skin on.
Yummers!
Our paths must have nearly crossed last weekend.
Thanks for taking the time to help educate more people about celiac disease…and in a serious, yet positive way.
Mmmm! I am so excited to see Shauna read here next weekend. My mom and brother (and about 1/3 of my other relatives) have celiac. I avoid gluten and avoid giving it to my girls since it seems not everyone is born with CD but there is some “trigger” later in life and no one knows what it is and it’s not neccesarily recognized immediately. Thus, we live a mostly GF existance. Add dairy-free to that, too, and things get even more interesting! Really, it just means we eat lots of whole foods which is actually a lot more fun anyway. I can’t wait to try the baking recipes in this book as I’m getting a little tired of boxed mixes. The GF products are a god-send, but I’d like to start playing on my own when I have the time.
Another delicious looking recipe, and I’m buying Shauna’s book this week, without a doubt. I love real cookbooks.
We must be on a similar craving quest! I just posted gluten-free cocoa pumpkin muffins on my site yesterday. Nothing like rich, dark chocolate to motivate creative baking. Especially the good stuff (I use Dagoba Cacao Powder because it’s high-quality and guaranteed gluten-free). I will definitely try this recipe you have here as I made mine up in an impromptu free-style baking frenzy and it could use a bit of tweaking.
Your blog is one of my favorites, even though you are a “regular” girl in the sense that you use “regular” flour most of the time. Like Shauna, I have celiac disease (so does my daughter) and live in a gluten-free world. No wheat? No worries! I’m also a Nutrition Therapist who specializes in celiac disease and gluten intolerance and am SO thrilled when someone like you dabbles with GF baking and increases awareness for celiac disease. This is where I will refrain from overdoing my enthusiasm, I don’t want to scare you off. But WELCOME! The abundance over here on the “alternative” side of cooking is almost overwhelming. I’m a huge fan of mesquite flour and am dabbling with green pea flour and also some wonderful NEW flours from a group of growers up in northwest Montana — not to mention the other 20 or so “exotic” flours jamming the shelves of my refrigerator. So thank you for the recipe and for giving GF baking and celiac disease some exposure!
Hey Deb, I forgot to ask where you got the info on “vinegar sometimes being poured through wheat” ? In the US most vinegar is made from corn and distilled, eliminating the gluten. In the past there was a rumor that vinegar had gluten in it. The celiac non-profits have been working very hard to dispel this myth since it eliminates a lot of foods that normally would be safe to eat. The one vinegar that is definitely NOT safe is malt vinegar. Anyhow…not to be nitpicky…I just was curious as to the source of your vinegar info. Thx.
yeee. doesn’t all that almond flour make it a bit fatty?
They look fantastic, Deb!
Oh Deb. I’ve been enjoying your blog for ages, and even signed up with Culinate and voted for you to win the barbecue trip. I’ve used several of your delicious recipes with great success. Your photos are always lovely.
I checked out Gluten-Free girl’s blog after this post. I’m sorry to report that Ms. Ahern’s writing is atrocious and her photos leave a lot to be desired. I don’t understand all the commas, the twee, ridiculous writing, and downright unappetizing photos. Why does she cry all the time? Please, no more pimping of that hack’s book. Yuck. She’s a terrible writer and photographer.
Deb,
Can you make these with Splenda instead of sugar? Then they would be carb-free as well as gluten-free.
??
Deb, thanks so much for posting this recipe. I love financiers! I first discovered them while working in a madeleine factory in California. Working with almond flour is a lot of fun – I’ve added it to a vegan chocolate cake I make and it moistens up the cake nicely. I have bought almond meal/flour at Trader Joe’s, and it’s worked well in all the recipes I’ve used it in. I like it in a more cobbly consistency rather than a powdery consistency, which gives things a more rustic feel. Anyway, love your blog and Flickr account, and your photos are lovely. BTW, I really enjoyed your Jackson Heights set (I asked to use one of them when I wrote a piece for outerb.com).
Keep up the good work!
Wait…a special-needs diet food that looks..amazingly delicious?
You wield witchcraft here, deb! Witchcraft I say!
Wow…Incredibly delicious looking.
I’ve heard gluten-free and dairy-free diets can help children with autism and asperger’s syndrome. I wonder what the connection is. Anyway, I think it’s awesome you did such a nice, PSA-like post. :)
I’ve recently been incorporating more gluten-free ingredients into my life and this looks like one more fantastic recipe to add to the mix! Thanks for the gorgeous pics!!
Since discovering that wheat was making my husband chronically ill, I started to bake with organic spelt flour. He has no problems since I made the switch. It doesn’t work well for bread, but I make great muffins, pancakes, chocolate cake, etc. with it. Has anyone else found success with this ancient grain?
I can’t wait to try out this yummy looking recipe.
Deb, those financiers are GOR-GE-OUS. I can’t wait to try ’em.
Ann,
I’m happy that spelt is working for your husband. It’s true that some people feel better eating spelt instead of refined wheat flour.
I just wanted to make sure that you and the other readers know that spelt is still wheat and has gluten, therefore, those on a gluten-free diet can’t eat spelt.
Trader Joes and whole foods usually have gound almond/almond flour…at least they do in California. Almond flour is fun to play with – great flour sub for coating chicken etc…
Long time reader, first time commenter. These look fantastic and I’m actually going to a get together in two weeks and the hostess thinks she may have celiac, so these will be perfect for me to bring.
Thanks for the recipe! Also, I made the pumpkin bread pudding this weekend and it turned out great. Soooo gooood…thanks again!
Sooooo many chocolate desserts to make and hardly any time. What to do!
Ann — Yes, Kelly’s right, spelt is actually a derivative of wheat and for people with celiac disease, it’s part of the “do not touch” stuff. Kamut and spelt are similar and are varieties of wheat, but are sometimes listed as wheat-free. It’s definitely misleading and neither are gluten-free. Some people do tolerate it better though. If you’d like a detailed list of gluten-free flours to bake with, I’d be happy to share that with you. :-) My refrigerator is bursting at the seams with alternative flours.
I guess if almond flour is not actually flour (which we would be nutty to duspute), then this is actually completely flour free and your coworker is safe. Looks fab all the same.
they look yummy! I will make them soon and let you know how it goesmmmmm
Gosh this looks so delicious. Can’t wait to make it on the weekend hopefully.
Question: Does it have to be almond extract?
totally unrelated to this recipe, but:
i was looking through your Flicker photos, and there were some comments posted about crying when cutting onions. This tip that someone gave me works pretty well: have a burning candle near by while chopping, and somehow the flame burns off the gases that make you tear up. Seems to work for me…hope it helps!
Sharon — That’s great advice! Thank you. I will definitely try it next time.
thisKat — I am also *trying* to go back and tag old recipes that I believe to be gluten-free (though feel free to correct, if anyone finds an error) as such, so that they will be easier to find.
CeliacChick — You know, I had pulled it off a blog; I think the author had missed the mistake and I let her know. I’ll update the post shortly.
Sue — I like that idea of using it to coat other things! I can imagine it would be a wonderful swap, at least in part, in cookies and cakes, too.
Mrs.Dolce — Funny you mention that; I realized as I was making them (uh, 11:45 on Saturday night) that I was out and used vanilla instead. I don’t think it matter. I think the almond will bring out the almond flavor, but I even think that a splash of orange liqueur would be wonderful, if you like that orange/chocolate/almond thing. Oooh, or zest! I can’t wait to experiment more soon.
Kalle — My sister-in-law told me that as well. Now I keep a candle in the kitchen. I don’t actually remember to use it, but I do have a lovely candle there. It’s a step, right?
I just wanted to say in response to Michelle that I happen to find gluten-free girl’s writing inspiring and heartfelt. I spent 2 hours reading her archives and found myself tearing up more than a few times (oh, to have a man like The Chef!! those baby blues!! the romanticism!! swoon). So thank you Deb, for linking to her, because I discovered another writer to add to my list.
This recipe made it for me: I hit the “Purchase” button and my Gluten-Free Girl book should be on its way. Almond flour … So smart.
*Update to comment #9*
I bought the book yesterday, it’s fantastic.
These look beautiful and delicious. And I love that the recipe doesn’t call for sorghum flour or some crazy wheat alternative like that. Recipes that are naturally gluten free are the best. Thanks for posting.
i have been wanting to make financiers for a while now. thank you for the inspiring recipe!
Just a warning… if you’re serving these to people with gluten allergies, you shouldn’t “grease and flour” the tins. Unless you’re using a gluten free flour.
Mmmm. What a great recipe – thanks for sharing! It’s so hard to find yummy tasting gluten-free food for my son but we’re getting much better at it :)
“* I made this by pulsing blanched almonds in the food processor until they were reduced to a powder. However, if you can find it in the store, the texture will be less gritty (the best I could do was a cornmeal consistency). Either work.”
I make my own almond flour. In order to get my almonds the consistency of a fine flour, I store them in the refrigerator. Cold, the almonds make a fine powder when ground in a coffee mill. If I want the flour even finer, I freeze it and then give it another round in the coffee mill. Chilling the almonds seems to do the trick.
I just made these the other day….they are incredibly delicious and I can’t believe i waited so long to make them (the price of almond flour held me back, but my husband pointed out that I deserved some treats after going gluten free and holding firm in the face of pizza night….). They were very, very good and I plan to make them often.
wow, these look amazing! i am going to make them AND post a link to them on my website. thanks!!!
Do you think these could be used as a base for black-bottom cupcakes? (for my cheesecake-loving gluten free friend!)
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.
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!
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!
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.
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??
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.”
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!
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!
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?
I just made these financiers as a Passover dessert and they turned out great! I could only make 7 muffins with the batter and I just wish I had more. My mom and I also made another Passover dessert from an Israeli cookbook by the renowned Ruth Sirkis. The recipe is for Almond Cookies and it doesn’t have any fat. The ingredients are 2 egg whites, half cup sugar, 200 grams ground almonds, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 tsp. orange zest, and half a cup sliced almonds. Beat the egg whites with the sugar until soft, add the ground almonds, vanilla, and orange zest. Mix well. Put a heaping teaspoon portions on a lined baking sheet, pressing sliced almonds on top of each cookie. Bake at 325 for 15 minutes until cookies are golden. Remove from pan and cool on rack. Thought you might be interested in a Passover recipe with similar ingredients. Thanks so much!
Hi Deb! Point the first: You are SO my favorite ever. Point the second: My mom recently discovered that she is both gluten- AND lactose-intolerant. She hasn’t been able to eat anything in about 6 months, first while she was trying to figure out what was making her sick, and then because we are having a lot of trouble finding things that will work for us (I am a vegetarian, so between the two of us, we are the Sprat Family Robinson over here). She is extremely discouraged so I’m always looking for yummy things she can still eat. So, my question is about the butter in this recipe. Would butter substitute (like Olivio or Earth Balance) work? I have had some disastrous results substituting for butter, especially in recipes where the fat is doing a lot of the heavy lifting, so I wanted to ask before any heartbreak ensues.
Thanks so much…I know some delicious chocolateness would cheer her up a lot.
Gluten allergy is becoming more and more popular. My brother was diagnosed with Celiacs about 5 years ago and then it was so hard to find stuff and we would experience all the time but the bread was just always hard and blahhhh. he married an amazing Italian girl who luckily loves to cook and bake and she became very familiar with how to bake and cook gluten free. I am going to pass along this recipe to Gabrielle and she can make them for her hubby! thanks for this post!
YOU HAVE A GF SECTION!! YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Long story short: My one year old was sick for six months. She got so sick towards the end that she couldn’t hold her head up because she was so dehydrated. My pediatrician kept telling me it was a virus, but I knew something was really wrong. By the time she was hospitalized (for a week) she was moderately malnourished. We were sent home feeding her with a NG tube, one of the hardest times as a mom I’ve ever been through. A few weeks later test results came in and we immediately switched her to a GF diet (very likely she has Celiac Disease). It has been over a year and my daughter is finally learning to eat and is thriving. :) My heart for cooking and baking has been on a mission to fill any gaps that loosing wheat, oats, barley or rye has left. There were many days at the beginning of our GF journey that I just couldn’t imagine a life without them (there were lots of tears). I am proud to say that you can make just about anything GF AND have it taste good too. Thank you, thank you thank you for this section and these recipes (I am going to try your mushroom soup recipe this week and can hardly wait)! These chocolate fanciers might just be my ticket for a great GF brownie substitute.
wow. wow. WOW. I have been off of gluten and dairy for about 20 days and counting…. even with a butter substitute (non-trans fat margarine) these little goodies blew me away and I love the simplicity of the recipe! Such a relief because I’ve had a few GF baking disasters… in particular, the Trader Joe’s GF brownie mix was absolutely intolerable and left me with an unsatisfied brownie craving… this was the fix!
I’ve enjoyed your recipes for a while now, soooo glad you have a GF section and would love to see more GF or easily convertible recipes here –
Thanks Deb!
Will using unprocessed cocoa change the results? I thought you use/don’t use dutch process cocoa to control reaction with baking soda (ie, dutch process cocoa is not acidic), but there is no baking soda or acid in this recipe, so I would think using either form of cocoa would work as well. Is there something I’m missing? Want to make this for a celiac friend but all I have on hand is unprocessed cocoa.
Missing your more frequent posts. Finish cookbook soon!
Holy yum. If I hadn’t made these to take to a Holiday Party I would have eaten the entire batch! They are sooooo freakkin good. I used Valrhona cocoa powder & am certain that it made all the difference. Like another reviewer I used almond meal that still had the skin & you could tell it was there but I wasn’t bothered by it personally. Next time if I’m making it as a gift I’ll make sure to buy blanched almond meal.
Thanks Deb! You continue to be my go-to source for all of my culinary needs (:
I just made this — I didn’t have the financier molds or mini-muffin tins so I poured the batter into a 9.5 inch tart pan (that I buttered first) and it came out great! I baked it for about 18 minutes. Then I popped it out and it is really cute — a huge flat cookie — and tastes wonderful.
Oh, and I didn’t have almond extract so I used a very generous 1/4 teaspoon of almond paste (whisked into the egg whites). Served with Häagen-Dazs vanilla swiss almond ice cream.
I am so thankful for this! I have celiacs and I LOVEE your website. I make my husband something from it once a week. I have baked no less than 15 of your fabulous recipes, and chewed, and then spit out *gasp*, no less than 15 as well. I am so happy to have something to make that wont end up in my sink!
P.S. my husbands favorite is your peanut butter cookies!
These are so tasty, I will defintely make these again.
Hi – I recently stumbled upon this goldmine of wonderful recipes and have enjoyed several samplings from your website in the past week. Thank you!
Did you know that it is fairly simple to blanch almonds at home? Simply pour boiling water over the almonds, let them soak for about 30 minutes, then drain the water and “pop” the skins off by squeezing the almonds. It makes this recipe more time-consuming, but I had a surplus of almonds from another recipe and wanted to use them while they were still fresh. For this recipe, after popping the skins off, I then patted them dry, spread them out in a pan, and put them in a 200-degree oven for about an hour so that they would grind up nicely in the food processor.
The home-blanched almonds are much softer, and I worried that processing them would turn them into paste so I followed the advice of comment #3 and pulsed the almonds with the powdered sugar, as well as comment #40 and chilled the almonds first. I had no trouble with it and have made this recipe three times now in the past week with excellent results! Yum!
Thanks again!!
Trader Joe’s sells a pound of almond meal for either $3.99 or $4.99. The beauty of having a pound of that stuff around is that you can make some delicious gluten-free pancakes for breakfast with just an egg and a couple of bananas to mash up with the almond meal.
Almost forgot to mention resources for pulverized nuts: these happen to be common ingredients in 2 groups:
[1] European baking, esp’ly Scandinavian, former AustroHungarian empire countries
[2] Passover baking
So look for pulverized almonds, hazel nuts, pecans, and walnuts in kosher stores [especially in neighborhoods in Brooklyn like Boro Parfrom a month before Passover or in stores in Manhattan that supply mittelEuropean products. Bakers suppliers also should be a good resource with bulk amounts.
You may find almond flour that is white or brown if ground with the husks. Also, if you are grinding your own nuts, you can toast them first, with or without the husk, and then grind them for a more intense flavor. You can try out how the different nut flour flavors and other qualities would work in the financier or other recipes! Walnut flour tends to be moister than almond for example.
Last comment: Keep your nuts, esp’ly ground, refrigerated or frozen! And pay attention to the dates on the packages. Nuts can deteriorate quickly.
Love your blog & photos. Made this yummy financiers for my gluten free friends. They loved them. I also tried adding sliced almonds & unsweetened coconuts to this recipe. Thank you for sharing your recpies.
annabe
Absolutely delicious! I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease 2 years ago. It has been a challenge to find tasty treats. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Michelle
This recipe looks amazing – I’m going to try it with Earth Blance instead of butter to make it dairy free.
I just made these, they’re positively elegant! However, I went out and bought a bag of crushed almonds (about 4 cups) from Bob’s Red Mill and I must say that I was disappointed. Not only was it pretty expensive (about $11.50, which also makes me worry for the sake of those with Celiac Disease who must have trouble staying on this diet financially if that’s what everything costs), it also wasn’t that great of a texture. I feel like I would have gotten the same slightly gritty consistency if I had just blended it myself (and for half the price)!
Wow! I’m so thrilled to have found something to make that is gluten-free… without all that weird xantham gum stuff! These are sinfully delicious (nope not ever gonna reduce butter or sugar)! My co-worker is Celiac and I feel so bad every time I bring goodies into the office and she can’t eat them. Now I’ve got a treat for her (and all the others)! Good call on the “flouring” with cocoa powder Tiny Kitchen! Too bad I didn’t read all the comments before I made these. Duh! I used my NordicWare mini acorns pan to make these as I didn’t have another mold and I’ve gotta say they are adorable! Thanks Smitten Kitchen (and all the other comments contributors). Happy Baking!
These are super yummy but mine really stuck to the molds even though I buttered them… perhaps not enough? Also… I did mine at 375 (as I suspect my oven gets hotter than the dial lets on) and they got a bit burnt on their edges after only 9 minutes. Just FYI to potential bakers – butter generously and keep a close eye!
Do you have a non-nut flour that you recommend in place of the almond flour? I have a gluten-free roommate and a roommate who is allergic to nuts. I’d love to be able to bake for them both at the same time. Also, we’re at about 5,500 feet elevation. Any tips for baking at elevation? I’ve had mixed success over the years, but no sure-fire system!
As always, thanks for the great recipes and inspiring pictures! Your recipes are always a big hit!!
These were awesome! They were a little gritty because I couldn’t get the almonds fine enough (even though I combined them with the powdered sugar) but maybe I wasn’t patient enough. I mixed everything in the food processor bowl to save on dishes and made these in regular muffin tins, filled them up about a quarter or a third of the way (about 1 tbsp each) and they came out just right. Thanks for another great, easy recipe!
I love these! They taste as delicious as they look. Has anyone tried this recipe with a different type of flour? I am fortunate that I do not have a gluten allergy — and given the cost of almond flour, I was wondering how this would work with whole wheat flour. I tried making my own almond flour, and it was pretty time consuming. (It’s possible that I’m missing some trick).
Hi Deb, these look delicious! I’m planning a shower for a couple who are GF. The mom-to-be is/was a cake addict, but for her, it is really about the frosting. Any suggestions for a light, grandiose frosting to compliment these?
Hello!
I have a friend who claims to detest cooking of all types, and in the effort to win her over, I decided to make her a cookie mix for the holidays. (You know, a mason jar with pretty layers of all the dry ingredients… With the recipe attatched?) She’s gluten-free, and since this recipe is also very quick and easy, it looks perfect. However, since she isn’t the baking type, I doubt she has almond extract. Could I put the extract in with my mix of dry ingredients? Or possibly omit it?
Thank you!
Jessica — I’d omit it. Or, you could rub a tiny bit vanilla bean (from a pod) into the sugar so that it’s infused and she can skip the liquid extract.
Update: Just made these with finely ground salted pistachios instead of almond meal, and a pinch of ground cardamom. Highly recommended!
Hi Jessica, I just made these and they are lovely! Definitely making them again.
Only mine didn’t come out as nicely as yours. How did the top of the financiers came out so smoothly? Mine where are crumbly… Thanks!
I LOVE these and make them all the time! Just made my first Passover rendition and wanted to pass along a tip. Many folks don’t eat corn on Passover. If this is a concern for you or your guests, skip the store bought powdered sugar (it generally contains corn starch) and simply throw granulated sugar in the food processor with potato starch (1 tbs per cup of sugar) and voila! Homemade kosher for passover powdered sugar to complete your financiers.
Just made these. First thought: gosh…they look like…little turds. :*( They didn’t come out shiny and smooth-topped. Perhaps it’s because I used the “special dark” Hershey’s cocoa? Would it be better to add a little bit more egg white next time? At least they taste like fantastically dark chocolate brownies. It’s my first time baking an almond meal baked good; I used Bob’s Red Mill almond meal/flour. The texture is a little grittier than my preference, but I’ll keep this recipe in mind next time I need something gluten-free.
Hi Deb,
Can I ask a question? If I want original taste, can I just omit the cocoa powder and add in vanilla extract? Do I need to reduce liquid/fat in this case?
Thanks
Lydia
Lydia — I’m not sure because I haven’t played around with the financier formula enough to know how to adjust it. Never just skip cocoa powder, however, it’s usually replaced with flour or almost as much flour.
These are fantastic. I made them to use up some egg whites leftover from making cookies. I converted the recipe to metric weights: 93 grams Trader Joe’s almond meal, 93 grams confectioner’s sugar, and 22 grams cocoa. I also browned the butter; started with 1 stick, when I measured it after browning I had just a little more that 6 tbsp so I jut put it all in. My batter was a little moister than what is pictured but they baked wonderfully. I will make these again.
Your Financiers look cute and elegant at the same time.
I love baking with almond flour, because its flavor is mild and pleasant. It works especially well with chocolate.
I recently tried a similar recipe posted at Homemade With an Upgrade. The recipe was a bit simpler, and the result was more brownie-like than light and cakey. I’m happy to have two quick, chocolate, gluten-free choices to suit my mood.
These were delicious for a festive breakfast! I love almond flour. Not being a chocolate person, I subbed 4 Tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes for the cocoa powder; not having powdered sugar in the house, I whirled regular granulated sugar (about 1/2 cup) and the coconut together in the food processor for awhile before using. Probably should have upped the amount of almond flour by a Tbsp or so as well.
Delicious!
I made these in a cupcake tin, and they needed some adjustment in cooking time – next time I will set the oven a little lower, 375? because mine just started to burn on the outside but were still slightly underdone (though not in a bad way!) inside. I made 12, which was flatter than what I think the ideal visual would be, but we loved the ratio of chewy outside to in.
These turned out great. They were a little crispy around the edges and chewy on the inside. The result was not quite a brownie, not quite a cookie, and completely delicious. I just used 1 whole egg and I substituted half of the butter with coconut oil. The coconut flavor was very subtle–next time, I’ll use coconut extract instead of almond extract.
I’m going to try out these lovely financiers, and I’m curious about the cocoa. The recipe calls for Dutched cocoa, but the color in your photos makes me think you used unprocessed for this batch. Have you also tried it with Dutched cocoa? Also, most other chocolate financier recipes I’ve seen also call for a small quantity of melted dark chocolate, 1-2 ounces for similarly sized recipes. I may try that to add some additional chocolate depth because I’m making them for a fan of dark chocolate. Do you think that would be problematic given the seemingly light structure of these cakes?
I made it as written, with Dutched cocoa. I believe at the time I was used Droste brand, which doesn’t have as dark of a hue as the Valrhona brand [you can see the color in the 2nd photo] I prefer these days. I’m not sure I would add melted chocolate without testing it — or, I’m not sure how it will work here because it can change a lot.
OMG how delicious are these. I just made them and they seriously taste divine. Can’t believe this recipe is gluten-free :D
made these in regular size muffin pan, instead of minis. did not dome, they turned out somewhat flat, and cracked. anyone knows why?
I made these for a work morning tea (with a couple of Celiacs) and they were a hit! Tasted amazing and they will be put on rotation (in moderation of course!) Thank you!
Not sure what happened but they tasted bland :(
Forgot the salt?
Would madeleine tins work for these? If heavily greased with butter beforehand of course.
Why not use the yolks of the eggs and decrease the butter accordingly? Or at least 1 whole egg and 1 white? Any idea about how much to decrease the butter if you do that? (I always forget leftover yolks or whites!)
Also, in my mini-muffin tins, using a slightly heaping small cookie scoop, I took them out at NINE minutes!
I am not sure about adding egg yolks at all, because you are not just going to had fat but a whole lot of other things in it as well. I had a discussion one day with a friend about cookies (coconut macaroons to be precise), hers were always as hard as a rock, and mine always pillowy. After comparision, the only difference was 1 egg yolk! So you might lose the pillowy effect in those financier.
Let us know if you tried anything!
These were some decadent little treats! I normally use a different recipe for financiers (no cocoa, some regular flour), but these were far superior. I did add one finishing touch from the other recipe, placing half a raspberry on top before baking, which I think was important to balance the chocolate with some tartness. The financiers tasted like brownies soaked in amaretto, very very good. There were a few wows from those who tried them.
Will these freeze? Would like to make in advance to last through Passover.