Bouchon Bakery: Chocolate Financiers
Bouchon Bakery is the product of famed chef Thomas Keller, an 11-time James Beard award winner and chef of two three-Michelin-Star-rated restaurants. He wrote the Bouchon Bakery cookbook based on all the sensory memories of food he had living and learning the art of baking in Paris, France, as well as adult versions of his childhood favorites. These recipes are a collection of those years.
Traditional financiers are small French almond cakes with moist centers and crispy edges. They are made using financier molds. This recipe is for chocolate financiers which still have the same crispy edges and moist centers, but are baked with mini muffin pans. The chocolate financiers were super easy to make and were a hit on Valentine’s Day with our friends and family.
We did have some drama with the brown butter, however. The first time we used a plastic stainer … which we melted. Oops. But on our second batch we used a metal strainer and nailed it.
You can find this recipe in the book Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller. You can also find the more traditional financier recipe along side it. Both are very easy recipes that taste great and are perfect for any cheat day.
Recipe
Ingredients
Granulated sugar – 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons (120 grams)
All-purpose flour – 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (20 grams)
Almond flour/meal – 1/2 cup + 1 1/2 teaspoons (60 grams)
Unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder – 1/4 cup (20 grams)
Egg whites – 1/4 cup + 2 1/2 tablespoons (100 grams)
Brown butter (still hot) – 1/2 cup (100 grams)
70% chocolate, chopped – 0.7 ounces (20 grams)
100% unsweetened chocolate, chopped – 0.4 ounces (10 grams)
How to Make Brown Butter:
Unsalted butter – 1 pound (453 grams)
Line a fine-mesh strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth and set over a medium bowl.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. As soon as it is melted, begin whisking to keep it from separating. Once the butter begins to boil, stop whisking and increase the heat to medium-high. Continue to cook the butter, whisking occasionally to keep the solids that settle on the bottom of the pan from burning, for about 5 minutes. As the moisture evaporates and the butter browns, the bubbles will lessen. Lift some of the butter on a spoon to check the color: when the butter is caramel colored, remove it from the heat and strain it into the bowl.
Discard the cheesecloth, and pour the clear butter into a container, leaving the sediment behind.
Use immediately, or store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Remelt the butter slowly in the microwave or over low heat before using.
Directions
Note: You will need a 12-mini-muffin pan and pastry bag with a 3/8-inch tip. For this recipe, Bouchon uses Valrhona Guanaja 70% chocolate, Valrhona 100% Pure Pate de Cacao, and Guittard Cocoa Rouge.
1. Preheat the oven to 425 F (standard). Spray 16 mini-muffin cups with nonstick spray.
2. Place the sugar in a large bowl and whisk to break up any lumps. Add the all-purpose flour. Sift in the almond flour; break up any lumps of almond flour remaining in the sieve and add them to the bowl. Sift in the cocoa powder and whisk to combine.
3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the egg whites and whisk them, gradually incorporating the dry mixture, until all the ingredients are well combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and whisk again. Place the brown butter and the chocolates in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring to melt the chocolate and heat the butter. When the mixture is very hot, just below a simmer, whisk it into the flour mixture.
4. Immediately transfer the batter to the pastry bag. Pipe the batter into the muffin cups, stopping just short of the rim (25 grams/1 1//2 tablespoons each).
5. Place the pans in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350 F, and bake for 12 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Immediately unmold the financiers and cool on a cooling rack.
The financiers are best the day they are baked, but they can be stored in a covered container for 1 day.
