Financiers

Financiers start with a batter made by simply stirring together flour, toasted ground almonds, and powdered sugar with lightly beaten egg whites, vanilla extract and beurre noisette (brown butter). Don't be put off by the term beurre noisette. It's just clarified butter, which has been cooked until the milk solids have turned brown, leaving you with a fantastically rich fragrant nutty flavored butter. It is not hard to make. The other distinct ingredient used to make Financiers is almond flour (meal) which is just blanched almonds that have been finely ground. It has a wonderful sweet flavor and its texture is similar to corn meal. The beurre noisette and almond meal compliment each other perfectly, creating a pastry which is slightly crunchy on the outside but soft and moist on the inside.