Chocolate Financiers (Financiers au Chocolat)

Take a bite of chocolate financiers that will take you from breakfast to teatime and every snack in between! Such a financier dessert with a cherry on top is a great way to welcome the cherry season and celebrate a cherry-themed birthday party.

After making classic French Financiers and traditional Pistachio Financiers, now it is the time to make a chocolate version of the famous French pastry - french financiers (financiers au chocolat in French).

Moreover, the cherry season brings the sight of summer, bright colors, and new ideas.

Have you ever thought of making a kid's cherry-themed birthday party? And why not get kids involved in making cute cakes with a cherry on top?

French financier: what, when, and why

Financier (French pronunciation: ​[fi.nɑ̃.sje]) is a traditional French tea cake made with almond (or hazelnut) flour and brown butter and baked in a special financier mold.

Classic financiers known since the middle ages in France became popular in Paris' financial district in the XIX century.

Later, as a financier dessert, they came to the States, and nowadays, people enjoy their authentic taste and shape.

Traditional financiers have a rectangular shape. They resemble the form of gold bullion since the cakes were primarily created for wealthy Parisian financiers back in the 19th century.

Today the financier cakes have different shapes: they can be baked in almost all small molds, including a mini muffin pan and small brioche molds.

Why you should try this recipe

1. This chocolate financier recipe is easy and quick to make: it takes 30 minutes to end up with 24 small cakes.
2. Cakes with a cherry on top are so adorable that kids get happy to help with baking and delightful to eat them at their next birthday party.
3. Bite-sized financier dessert is perfect for picnicking or adults' entertaining parties.
4. The chocolate and cherry combination is one of the favorites in the French pastry world.
5. These chocolate cherry financiers are a unique way to use leftover egg whites!

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Almond flour: the recipe calls for almond flour/meal of any brand.

Cocoa powder: exceptionally fine and powerfully flavored cocoa powder by Valrhona is the best to use in the recipe.

Icing sugar: use a coffee grinder to make it yourself or use a store-bought powdered sugar instead.

Egg whites: use egg whites at room temperature.

Butter: melted butter works for this recipe. If you want to bring the nutty caramelized flavor to chocolate financiers, make brown butter instead of the melted one.

Cherries: sour fresh cherries with stems work best. Their tartness perfectly harmonizes with the sweetness of almond flour.

If you can not find sour cherries, regular black cherries or maraschino cherries with stems during the winter months work well, too.

Flour: the recipe calls for all-purpose flour.

How to make chocolate financiers

Preheat the oven to 355 F/180 C. In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, cocoa powder, icing (powdered) sugar, and all-purpose flour and set aside (photo 1).

In a separate clean bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer for about 20 - 30 seconds.

Add egg whites to the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula. Add the cold melted butter and mix again (photo 2).

Butter cavities of a mini muffin pan. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag with the cut tip, and pipe it into molds filling up to two-thirds (photo 3).

Bake for 6 minutes, insert a cherry with a stem in each cake (photo 4).

Continue baking for the other 6 to 8 minutes until a cake tester or a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then flip the mini muffin pan over to unmold cakes and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Expert tip

1. Replace fresh cherries with fresh seasonal raspberries if you prefer.

Frequently asked questions

Love teatime desserts? Try these next!

• Authentic French Madeleines
• Red Fruit Muffins
• Blackberry Friands
• Browse all the Cake Recipes

Print

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.