Financier
 

DARK CHOCOLATE FINANCIERS, CITRUS STREUSEL, AND CANDIED ORANGES

 
Category: Cakes and Tarts
Difficulty: Moderate
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Total Time: 55 min

 

INGREDIENTS

Dark Chocolate Financiers:
2 cups ground almonds 
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¾ tablespoon Valrhona Cocoa Powder
9 ea egg whites
5 tbsp heavy cream
1.76 ounces GUANAJA 70% BAKING BAR 

Citrus Almond Streusel:
3 ½ tbsp raw cane sugar
½ cup ground almonds
⅓ cup flour
1 tbsp butter
½ orange zest
½ lemon zest

Financier filling:
8.47ounces candied orange peel

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Dark Chocolate Financier:
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the ground almonds, sugar, cornstarch, and Valrhona Cocoa Powder.
  • Stir in the egg whites and cream. Set aside.
  • Chop the Valrhona Baking Dark Chocolate and melt it slowly in a bain-marie or in a microwave in 30 seconds intervals until melted (see our "How to temper" tips)
  • Pour a bit of the sponge batter into the melted hot chocolate, vigorously whisking the mixture. Then carefully fold in the remaining financier batter.
  • Set aside in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.
 

Citrus Streusel:
  • In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, ground almonds, flour, and the finely chopped lemon and orange zest.
  • Cut the cold butter into small cubes and put in the mixing bowl.
  • Knead the ingredients through your fingers until the dough becomes crumbly and lumpy.
  • Spread out the streusel on a tray lined with parchment paper or a silicon mat.
  • Bake at 300-320°F (148-160ºC) (th. 5/6) for about 10 minutes until a nice golden brown color is achieved.

 

Assembly & Finishing:

  • Garnish the molds with the financier batter and sprinkle with candied orange peel cubes and baked streusel.
  • Bake at 350°F (176ºC) for about 15 to 20 minutes.Allow to cool before removing from the molds.
*Pastry Chef's Tip: In order to keep the streusel and orange peel stable on the surface, first bake the financier cakes plain for 4 minutes and then sprinkle the streusel and orange peel on top.
 
Finish baking for another 10 minutes.

Good to know:
  • Silicon molds don't usually need to be buttered; however, if the cakes get stuck in the molds, allow the molds to cool, and then remove them. Or set them aside in the freezer until they harden.