Tuesday 29 May 2018

Pistachio and Raspberry Financiers

These elegant little desserts are from Food and Drink magazine Winter 2017.  

Classic little tea cakes topped with a rich white chocolate cream… And one bite is all you need. Well, there will be plenty if you insist on more than one bite.I used a mini muffin tin. The batter and white chocolate cream should be prepared a day in advance, with baking, whipping and decorating all done on the day of serving.

FINANCIERS
¼ cup (60 mL) unsalted butter
1 cup (250 mL) icing sugar
⅓ cup (80 mL) unsalted pistachios
¼ cup plus 1 tbsp (75 mL) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp (1 mL) baking powder
3 large egg whites
About 1 cup (250 mL) frozen raspberries

WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM
4 oz (125 g) white chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream

Fresh raspberries, pistachios and white chocolate shavings for garnish
1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and continue cooking until the butter foams, turns golden brown and has a nut-like fragrance. Remove from heat and cool to lukewarm.

2. Place the icing sugar and pistachios in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until the nuts are very finely ground.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder, then add the icing-sugar-ground- nut mixture and whisk to combine.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until they are foamy. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and fold in the egg whites and brown butter. Cover the mixture and chill overnight.

5. For the white chocolate cream, place the chopped white chocolate in a medium bowl and the cream in a saucepan. Bring the cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Allow the mixture to sit for 1 minute, then stir with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth. Chill overnight.

6. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).

7. If using a mini muffin tin, lightly grease and flour the moulds. If using a Silpat mould, place it on a baking sheet. Fill each cavity about three-quarters full with the batter. Insert a frozen raspberry into each mould.

8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until slightly mounded on top and golden brown around the edges. Cool on a wire rack then remove from mould. (The financiers are best the day they are made, but can be stored in a sealed container, at room temperature, for up to 1 day.)

9. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the white chocolate cream to stiff peaks. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a star tip and pipe a decorative mound onto each financier. Garnish with a fresh raspberry, ½ a pistachio nut and white chocolate shavings.
Makes about 25 mini Financiers

No comments:

Post a Comment