A twist between Marble Cake and French Teacakes, this Marble Financier recipe makes light, sweet, and naturally gluten-free mini cakes. A combination of chocolate and vanilla pair perfectly with almond flour and brown butter to give these teacakes their distinct flavor.
Every time I share a financier recipe I have to wonder how many people even know what they are. I'd never had one outside of my own kitchen until I visited Paris, so I can't say it's entirely shocking to me that these are some of the more underrated recipes I share. But today we're talking all things financier - what they are, how to make them, and (obviously) why I think they're so dang good - so buckle up because imma bout to give you the full rundown on these little French teacakes.
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What are financiers?
Financiers (also known as friands in Australia and New Zealand) are small French teacakes typically made with a combination of almond flour, brown butter, powdered sugar, and egg whites. Naturally there are other ingredients involved, but these four are what particularly distinguish financier recipes from anything else. They're also traditionally baked in small rectangular molds that resemble bars of gold (hence the name). Tradition aside, I've never baked mine in a rectangular mold, and I like to experiment with different nut flours on occasion, so there is some wiggle room here. I also rarely make mine with powdered sugar because I personally prefer the taste of granulated sugar better.
How to make financiers
Financiers are pretty easy to make and only involve a few basic steps. You'll start out by browning your butter on the stove - this gives the butter a rich, nutty flavor that makes financiers so unique. Next, you'll whisk together your dry ingredients - typically almond flour, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whip up some egg whites until they're nice and foamy on top. Pour the whites into your dry ingredient mixture and fold in just til' they're incorporated. Finally, fold in the butter. After that, all you do is transfer the batter to your pan of choice and bake! This recipe has a couple tweaks to the basic formula to account for the fact that we're actually making two batters (one chocolate and one vanilla), but the general process is the same.
Using different types of flour
I've seen financiers made with all kinds of nut flour - almond flour, hazelnut flour, pistachio flour, etc. - as well as a combination of nut flour and a second flour like all-purpose or rice flour. For this particular recipe I recommend almond flour or hazelnut flour. The latter is a little harder to find unless you purchase it online, but it gives the financiers a Nutella-like flavor that I love♡.
Achieving the marble effect
To get the chocolate and vanilla marble effect with the financiers, we're making a single batter that gets split into two different flavors just before baking. One half of the batter gets mixed with extra almond flour and plain brown butter to make a vanilla version, and the other gets mixed with cocoa powder, espresso powder, and a chocolate infused brown butter for a chocolate version. (This is much easier than making two separate batters!) You'll spoon the two batters in alternating spoonfuls into your muffin cups, and then swirl them together briefly with a toothpick or knife. Because the batter is thick, I highly recommend using free-standing muffin cups that will hold up better to the swirling than regular muffin liners.
Ways to use the egg yolks left over from this recipe
Since this recipe uses egg whites only, you'll have 5 egg yolks left over to find another use for. Don't dump them! You can use them to make a French-style ice cream, a cream pie, creme brûlée, pudding, or any number of other recipes that rely on egg yolks for their fat content and thickening power.
Why these financiers are so dang good
Alright, I promised we'd get to this part! I love financiers in general because of their rich, nutty flavor, light texture, and crisp edges. These in particular are almost brownie-like in flavor, but with a light, delicate, soft crumb interior and those classic crispy edges. The sweeter vanilla parts pair perfectly with the more intense chocolate parts for a treat that works just as well with coffee in the morning as it would with tea in the evening. And just between you and me, I feel like a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of one of these would be amazing.
More financier recipes
If you're new to the financier party here, I have a few other variations you can try as well! All of these recipes are also gluten-free:
Chocolate Financiers - If you found yourself wondering whether you could make this recipe with just the chocolate batter, try these Chocolate Financiers instead. :)
Raspberry Hazelnut Financiers - These financiers uses hazelnut flour in place of almond flour AND have a surprise spoonful of chocolate hazelnut spread in the center. If you love hazelnuts I highly recommend this one.
Strawberry Almond Financiers - This is a very basic almond financier recipe that's garnished with sliced strawberries and slivered almonds before baking. It's a great starting point if you're looking for a classic financier flavor and/or want to experiment with your mix-ins by using different garnishes.
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Marble Financiers
A twist between Marble Cake and French Teacakes, this Marble Financier recipe makes light, sweet, and naturally gluten-free mini cakes. A combination of chocolate and vanilla pair perfectly with almond flour and brown butter to give these teacakes their distinct flavor.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-22 minutes
- Total Time: 45-47 minutes
- Yield: 9 financiers 1x
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (6 ounces or 1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½" pieces
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ounce semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
- 1 ¾ cups (7 ounces) almond flour, divided use (or sub hazelnut meal for a Nutella-like flavor!)
- ⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon (5 ⅛ ounces) granulated sugar, divided use
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 egg whites
- ¼ cup (⅞ ounce) cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon espresso powder
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Place 9 free-standing muffin cups* on a baking sheet.
Brown the butter: Place the sliced butter in a small skillet set over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts and starts to foam up. Continue to cook, whisking often, just until golden-brown specks appear. Remove from heat immediately.
Whisk the vanilla extract into the brown butter. Transfer half of the mixture (about 1 ¼ ounces) into a separate bowl. Add the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate to the remaining butter and let sit for a couple minutes to give the chocolate time to melt. Then, whisk until smooth. Set aside.
In a clean, medium bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups (6 ounces) almond flour or hazelnut meal, ⅔ cup (4 ⅝ ounces) granulated sugar, and salt, making sure there are no lumps in the mixture.
In a second medium bowl, whisk the egg whites until very foamy on the surface (but still liquid). Add this to the dry ingredients and fold in with a spatula just until fully incorporated. Divide the mixture evenly between two separate bowls (about 8 ¼ ounces of batter per bowl).
To one batch of batter, add the remaining ¼ cup (1 ounce) almond flour/hazelnut meal and the plain brown butter, folding in just until all ingredients are evenly incorporated. This will be the vanilla portion of your marble financiers.
To the second batch of batter, add the cocoa powder, remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, espresso powder, and the chocolate butter mixture. Fold in just until all ingredients are evenly incorporated. This will be the chocolate portion of your marble financiers.
Carefully spoon alternating spoonfuls of chocolate and vanilla batter into the muffin cups, making sure that each one has both chocolate and vanilla batter visible on top when you're done. The batter is rather thick, so take time to make sure it fills the bottoms and sides of the muffin cups as best as possible. Once done, use a toothpick or knife to briefly swirl the batter in each cup.
Transfer the baking sheet with the muffin cups into the preheated oven. Bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes, and then reduce the heat to 375ºF and bake for another 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the financiers comes out clean or with only a couple crumbs. Cool the financiers on the baking sheet briefly, and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight, zip-top bag at room temperature.
Notes
*It's important to use muffin liners for this recipe to prevent the financiers from burning around the edges. While you technically can use regular muffin liners in a muffin pan, free-standing liners make it easier to swirl the batter since it's on the thick side.
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Theodora Gasman
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