One our favourite of all the many gorgeous French pastries out there has got to be the financier. These small cakes, shaped like little rectangular loaves, are especially ideal for afternoon tea.
We’ve spoken to the baker extraordinaire Bernard Laurence who has shared his decadent recipe for Hazelnut Financiers. These little cakes are a tribute to hazelnuts in all of their splendour, sophistication and style, and we just love it.
Of course, you can only make the financier without the ganache, but the combination here is to die for…
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
For The Financier Dough
- 125g of soft butter
- 135g of powdered sugar
- 125g of hazelnut powder
- 30g of flour
- 105g of egg whites
- 25g of almond powder
- A pinch of salt
- One vanilla bean
Lacteal Ganache
- 200g of 4% milk chocolate
- 75g of heavy cream
- 30g of soft butter
First, make a hazelnut butter by placing the soft butter in a saucepan and bringing it to a boil, then let it cook until it has a nice amber color. Stop cooking and let cool.
In a bowl, mix the remaining ingredients of the financier dough. Then slowly pour in the hazelnut butter and mix carefully.
Fill the moulds with the dough. You can take any shape you want. Then cook on a rotating heat in a preheated oven at 170°C for 15 to 20 minutes, or more depending on the size of your moulds.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then unmold and finally let cool on a wire rack.
For The Ganache
Melt together the milk chocolate, cream and butter in a bowl over a double boiler or in the microwave in 30-second intervals. Mix well to get a smooth texture. Pour into a clean container and then wrap with cling film. Chill for at least 1 hour then place in a bag fitted with a 10mm nozzle. Pipe the ganache onto the financiers. Then store in the fridge until ready to serve!
For more hazelnut delights, checkout these other recipes from Bernard:
Hazelnut Paste – La cuisine de Bernard
Caramel and Hazelnut Crunch – La cuisine de Bernard
Apple, Pear and Hazelnut Crumble with Milk Chocolate and Praline – La cuisine de Bernard
