Traditional Pistachio Financier Recipe (2024)

Here is an easy and quick recipe for pistachio financiers, little French almond cakes made with ground pistachios, brown butter, and beaten egg whites. They are perfect for morning coffee and afternoon tea and are a great lunch box idea.

Most of the classicfinanciers are made with almond flour, sometimes adding hazelnut flour, but this financier recipe also uses ground pistachios. That is why such pistachio cakes are called 'pistachiers' in France.

This pistachio financier recipe was adapted from the original recipe by the French chef Gaston Lenôtre.

He used pistachio paste to make his cakes. But what if to replace it with ground pistachios and sprinkle cakes with chopped nuts? It would bring an additional texture and give a green tint to financiers.

What is a financier?

A financier (pronounced fee-nahn-see-AY) is a small French almond cake made with brown (hazelnut) butter and baked in a special financier mold.

History of financiers

Nuns baked similar cakes called 'visitandines' in the middle ages. Later, in 1890, a Parisian pastry chef Lasne created cakes called "financiers" in the shape of gold bullion.

They were consumed mainly by wealthy financiers who worked in his neighborhood near the Place de la Bourse - the financial district of Paris.

French financiers have been known for more than 100 years. However, they have recently begun serving clients at some restaurants in America.

Financier molds

The authentic financiers have a rectangular shape resembling a rectangular gold bar and are baked in a special financier mold.

Most of them are made of silicone, which is very convenient because you do not need to grease them. Make sure to read about baking with silicone molds. If you use a carbon steel mold, you will need to butter and flour each cavity.

Can you bake financiers in a muffin mold?

You can bake financiers in a mini muffin pan, filling each cavity up to two-thirds. The cakes will not have the authentic rectangular shape, so your cakes will likely be called muffin(n)-iers (adding the French suffix -ier to the English word "muffin").

Depending upon the size of your muffin cups, you must adjust the baking time, adding a few more minutes.

Pistachio financier recipe

• This easy recipe takes 30 minutes to make 16 financiers.

• It uses leftover egg whites.

• Financier cakes are loaded with nutty flavor due to brown butter and texture due to ground pistachios.

• Packed in a gift box, they make a great edible holiday gift.

Ingredients

Get a quick overview of the necessary ingredients. For precise measurements and instructions, refer to the recipe card.

• Almond flour: Use blanched, finely ground almond flour, almond meal, or ground almonds. Do not press almond flour or meal into a measuring cup; otherwise, you will end up with more flour than you need.

• Icing sugar: Use a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder to make it yourself, or use store-bought powdered sugar.

• Flour: Use all-purpose regular flour, the same as plain flour.

• Pistachios: The recipe calls for raw pistachios. To make ground pistachios, place nuts intoa grinder or food processor. Pulse pistachios a few times until they look like breadcrumbs. It is crucial not to over-grind nuts; otherwise, they will turn into nut butter.

• Baking powder: Make sure to use fresh aluminum-free baking powder.

• Butter: Use unsalted butter; do not replace it with margarine.

• Egg whites: Use egg whites at room temperature, but separate them from the egg yolks while whole eggs are chilled. For better success, weigh the ingredients, especially egg whites, with a kitchen scale.

Pro tip: Use leftover egg yolks to make creme Anglaise, Italian pastry cream, or Palet Breton.

• Sugar: Use regular granulated white sugar.

• Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the flavor of financiers.

How to make pistachio financiers

Step 1. To make the brown butter, melt unsalted butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once it is ready (look for the golden brown color, hazelnut smell, and brown solids at the bottom of the pan), pour the butter into another bowl to stop cooking.

Pro tip: Consult the beurre noisette recipe for step-by-step photographed explanations, helpful tips, and tricks.

Step 2. Let it cool to room temperature. Leave dark bits (milk solids) in the butter.

Step 3. To make the batter,placealmond flour, all-purpose flour,baking powder, powdered (icing) sugar, and ground pistachios in a bowl and mix with a hand whisk or an electric mixer (photo 1).

Pro tip: This step is necessary in order to aerate the mixture and avoid lumps.

Step 4. Pour the brown butter and mix with arubber spatula (photo 2).

Step 5. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with granulated sugar and a pinch of salt with anelectric mixerfor 20-30 seconds (photo 3). Egg whites have to be slightly mounted. Divide the whites into three parts.

Step 6. Add the first part of egg whites to the main preparation and mix well with ahand whisk. Add the second and the third parts of whites, each time vigorously mixing with awhisk (photo 4).

Step 7. Cover the batter with aplastic filmin contact and refrigerate for one hour.

Step 8. Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Using a piping bagor a spoon, fill each cavity of afinancier moldup to ⅔ and sprinkle with chopped pistachios (photo 5).

Step 9. Bake cakes for 12 minutes. Let them cool for 3-5 minutes (photo 6), and take cakes from the mold.

To serve, sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Expert Tips

1. Multiply all the ingredients by 1.5 and bake financiers in a mini muffin pan. Butter and flour each cavity and increase the baking time, adding a few more minutes.
2. Replace chopped pistachios with 1 to 3 fresh raspberries to place on top of each financier before baking.

Storing and freezing

Financiers are best enjoyed on the same day of baking since their texture slightly deteriorates in a few hours. Store pistachio financiers in an airtight container in a cool place for 2-3 days (according to some chefs - for a week).

Can you freeze pistachio financiers? You can freeze financiers well-wrapped in plastic and aluminum foil for up to 2 months.

Recipe FAQ

Love French tea cakes? Try these next!

• Classic French madeleines
• Raspberry madeleines
• Lemon poppy seed madeleines
• Blackberry friands
• Raspberry friands
• Chocolate financiers
• Browse all the small cake recipes

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from www.cuisinedaubery.com. It was originally published on May 16, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos.