Enjoy this insanely easy financier recipe to make brown butter French financiers. Their texture is amazing; their taste is beyond delicious. These financier cakes are perfect for your afternoon pick-me-up or as finger food while entertaining.

I love these cute French financiers baked in a mini muffin mold! They are absolutely perfect for your morning or afternoon cup of tea. If you make desserts at home, these easy to bake cakes may become your favorite bake-to-sell project. They also make a great edible gift during the holiday season.
I adapted a financier recipe created by the French chef Pierre Hermé. While he bakes financiers in a rectangular financier mold, which I did in the past, I have recently started to experiment with a mini muffin pan to make financiers.
Moreover, I noticed that David Lebovitz uses a mini muffin pan to make his tiny cakes. And I must admit that I love the idea.
Just have a look at the bite-sized Chocolate Cherry Financiers here on my blog. Although I made Pistachio Financiers using a financier mold, they can be easily baked in a mini muffin mold as well.
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French financiers
French financier cakes have been known in France for more than 100 years. In the States, they have recently started being served in restaurants.
Formerly known as a visitandines, financiers are small bite-sized almond cakes made with beurre noisette (brown butter), egg whites, powdered sugar, almond, hazelnut, and all-purpose flour.
Initially, these cute cakes were made by the Visitandines order of nuns. Later, in the 19th-century, financiers were popularized in a financial district of Paris surrounding the Paris stock exchange.
The primary consumers of cakes were wealthy financiers who easily kept cakes in their pockets. It was possible due to the unique shape of the financier cakes baked in a traditional rectangular mold resembled a bar of gold.
Nowadays, the shape of French financiers may be different: rectangular in some places, round in others. But one thing is for sure financiers are tasty and delicious.
What is brown butter?
Brown butter (Beurre noisette in French) is translated as hazelnut butter because of its color. It is a warm sauce made by melting unsalted butter over low heat that is used to accompany savory dishes and to make French pastry. It has a toasty hazelnut color and nutty flavor. Read here and watch the video on how to make brown butter.
Financier recipe variations
Once the batter is poured into a financier mold or a mini muffin pan, it is time to add a topping of your choice (fruits, nuts, chocolate chips). For the toppings, just add them in moderation, usually one piece of fruit per financier. Here is a list of possible financier recipe variations:
- Top financiers with fresh raspberries, following the recipe of Stephanie from Joy of Baking.
- Sprinkle each cake with a few sliced almonds as Bee from Rasa Malaysia does.
- Add a dried cherry in the center of each financier in the way Ed & Marieke from Weekend Bakery recommend in their recipe.
- Arrange one blackberry in the center of each mold, following the recipe of Iryna from SoFabFood.
- Place a halved fig on top of each financier as Becky from A Calculated Whisk does.
- Make Plum Financiers by placing two plum slices on top of each cake like Cook's Illustrated gives a try.
- Place a chocolate chunk on top of each cake and make Chocolate Chunk Financiers.
Why this financier recipe works
- The recipe is insanely easy to make.
- You will end up with a whole batch of financiers - 24 small tea cakes.
- They are the best way to use leftover egg whites.
- Financier cakes make a beautiful edible gift during holidays.
- These bite-sized cakes are neat to eat when such a situation arrives.
- These cute cakes are adorable and snackable for kids.
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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.
Icing sugar: make it at home using a coffee grinder or purchase powdered sugar in a baking department of your grocery store.
All-purpose flour: it is necessarily to add to the combination of nut flour.
Almond flour: either use a store-bought blanched finely ground almond flour or make ground almonds yourself. To do so, toast blanched almonds at 300 F/150 C for 15 minutes, place nuts in a food processor, and process until finely ground. Do not over-process; otherwise, you will get nut butter.
While measuring, please, do not press/pack almond flour or ground almonds into a measuring cup; otherwise, you will get the wrong measurement.
Hazelnut flour: make ground hazelnuts yourself, following the same method for ground almonds. You can also replace hazelnut flour with almond flour if you desire. It works as a 1:1 substitute.
Egg whites: separate egg whites from yolks using an egg separator while eggs are still chilled. 150 g egg whites approximately equal to 4.5 raw fresh egg whites from large size chicken eggs.
For better success, I always encourage to weigh all the ingredients, especially egg whites, with a kitchen scale.
Butter: to make buttery financier cakes, use unsalted top-quality butter.
How to make brown butter financiers
Preheat oven to 375 F/190 C.
To make the brown butter, in a small saucepan, heat butter on low to medium heat, occasionally swirling the pan over the stovetop for about 5 minutes. It will foam at first, but then it will begin to brown, producing dark golden flecks (browned milk solids).
Check the color and once you are happy with the level of browning, pour the butter (with milk solids) into a bowl to stop cooking. Let it stand and fully cool down (photo 1).
To make the cake batter, using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites for no longer than 20 seconds and set aside (photo 2).
In a separate bowl, combine sugar, all-purpose flour, almond, and hazelnut flour. Add beaten egg whites to the dry ingredients and mix with a hand whisk (photo 3). Stir in the brown butter (photo 4).
Generously butter cavities of a mini muffin pan. Pour the batter into the mold filling the holes up to two-thirds (photo 5).
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until nicely browned (photo 6). Remove from the oven, and let cakes cool before removing them from the mold.
Expert tips
- Watch the video on how to make brown butter.
- Make the cake batter in advance, cover with a plastic film in contact and refrigerate for a few days, if you desire.
- Use a small, blunt knife to release the edges of the cakes and remove them from the mold.
Frequently Asked Question
Do you need to chill the financier butter
Some financier recipes recommend covering the batter with a plastic film in contact and chilling it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before baking. This particular recipe does not require this step.
How to store French financiers
Store financiers in an air-tight container for up to seven days. I personally prefer to keep financier cakes for the first 24 hours at room temperature, covered with a kitchen towel. You can also freeze them for up to two months.
More delicious teatime dessert recipes you will love
- Classic French Madeleines
- Easy Blackberry Heart-Shaped Friands
- Kouglof – The Best Alsatian Brioche
- Browse all the Cake Recipes
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Recipe card
Authentic French Financier Recipe
Enjoy this insanely easy financier recipe to make brown butter French financiers. Their texture is amazing, their taste is beyond delicious. These financier cakes are perfect for your afternoon pick-me-up or as finger food while entertaining.
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 24 financiers 1x
- Category: Cakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cup + 2 tablespoons (225 g) powdered (icing) sugar
- ½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (75 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup + 13 teaspoons (90 g) almond flour
- 4 tablespoons (30 g) hazelnut flour
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (150 g) egg whites (note #1)
- 7.4 oz (210 g) butter, unsalted
* If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F/190 C.
- To make the brown butter, in a small saucepan, heat butter on low to medium heat, occasionally swirling the pan over the stovetop for about 5 minutes. It will foam at first, but then it will begin to brown, producing dark golden flecks (browned milk solids). Check the color and once you are happy with the level of browning, pour the butter (with milk solids) in a bowl to stop cooking. Let it stand and fully cool down.
- To make the cake batter, using an electric mixer whisk egg whites for no longer than 20 seconds and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, all-purpose flour, almond, and hazelnut flour. Add beaten egg whites to the dry ingredients and mix with a hand whisk. Stir in the brown butter.
- Generously butter cavities of a mini muffin pan. Pour the batter into the mold filling the holes up to two-thirds. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the oven, and let cakes cool before removing them from the mold.
Notes
- 150 g egg whites approximately equal 4.5 raw fresh egg whites from large size chicken eggs.
- Watch the video on how to make brown butter.
- Use a small, blunt knife to release the edges of cakes and remove them out of the mold.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 financier
- Calories: 143
- Sugar: 9.4 g
- Sodium: 57 mg
- Fat: 9.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.8 g
- Fiber: 0.6 g
- Protein: 2.1 g
- Cholesterol: 19 mg
Keywords: brown butter financiers, financier recipe, French financiers, financiers, financier cakes
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 https://www.aux-fourneaux.fr. It was originally published on February 11, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.
Vry says
Hi Irina,
As mentioned by someone else, I also think these are too sweet. I guess this is because of the combination of sugar level and almonds, which are already sweet by themself.
I calculated that the recipe you used as a base has a sugar percentage of 32% and your own variation has a sugar percentage of 28,8%. So it is already better.
I will look into decreasing the sugar, but maybe you can also look at it yourself. Cheers, Vry
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Irina says
Hello Vry, thanks for making the recipe. As for the amount of sugar, it is well known that sugar is responsible for sweetness and the texture of baked goods. That is why I always try to keep the authenticity of the recipe as much as I can. Also, I suggest making the recipe the first time as it is and then experimenting. I would be happy to read if you try to make financiers with the decreased amount of sugar. Please, let me know.
Shahla says
Hi Irina, I made these financiers, their taste was very nice, but I think the texture was incorrect. I have not eaten financier before, but the photos look like cupcakes. This recipe has not baking powder, is it right? The batter was not runny, and I put it with a spoon, and it needed to make it flat with a spoon. Is it the right texture, or have I made a mistake in some way? I would appreciate it if you guide me to make the correct texture.
★★★★★
Irina says
Hello Shahla, thanks for your comment. You are correct that the recipe doesn't contain baking powder. The batter has to be runny enough. The only thing I can think about is if you whisked the egg whites until soft peaks. You should beat the whites with a hand whisk slightly. Please, let me know how you beat the egg whites, and I will guide you more.
Shahla says
Hi Irina, thank you for your response, as you have written in instruction, I beat the whites 20 second with electric mixer. The only thing was I used boxed egg whites.
Another question is which one’s texture is better, pistachio financier or this recipe? Because these are from two great chefs, but very different.
Irina says
Hi Shahla, I am not sure if the boxed egg whites could affect the texture. I always use whole eggs. Speaking about both recipes (I also have Raspberry Financier recipe), I would say that their texture is very similar. I would suggest you try to make the recipe again and see if it turns out perfect. If not, I will try to help you by guiding you online. How does it sound?
Annalise says
Wow, I should have read the comments before I attempted this recipe. Am I to understand that the current amount of sugar required is LESS than the amount it previously required??? Because as I was making this, the MOUNTAIN of sugar it needed to terrify me. Not for any health reasons, just because I thought, "my God, this is going to be WAAAY too sweet." So I promptly removed 50 grams of sugar down to 175, although I was still uneasy. Guess what? The end product was STILL way, way too sweet. I cannot imagine what they would have tasted like with 225 grams of sugar, and my teeth hurt when I think about the apparently original recipe.
★★★
Irina says
Hello Annalise, I am sorry that the financiers felt too sweet for your taste. I want to clarify the situation. I often post French dessert recipes, it is true. It is also true that I sometimes try to adapt them so as not to lose their authenticity. I always think that people would like to try the authentic recipe not traveling to France. So this financier recipe was adapted from one of the best French chefs, Perre Hermé. I kept his authentic approach. Another reason that I kept the amount of sugar is to keep the original texture of the cakes. Sugar is not only responsible for sweetness but also for texture building. So, I don't post recipes just to post; I don't post just sweets; I try to keep the recipe's authenticity. We all have different taste buds, and it is okay. For someone, it is sweet; for another one is okay. I always recommend my readers make the recipe to get the authentic look, taste, and texture. Then they are free to experiment. I have recently started a new recipe category devoted to no sugar baking. It is for those who watch the sugar intake. Thanks for making the recipe!
Rebekah L. says
Including the mass of the ingredients makes all the difference. I have tried a few different recipes online that use the same ingredients, but the ratios weren't right. This recipe gives you moist spongy cake with a deliciously crispy exterior. I didn't have hazlenut flour so I just added that mass in additional almond flour, and I was delighted with the results. I also really appreciate the authenticity of the recipe.
★★★★★
Irina says
Hello Rebekah, I am happy to hear that you liked the recipe. Thank you for your comment; it helps other readers too!