Financier recipe, classic french almond cake and marbled one

The financier... I actually think it's my favourite cake of all,

with a tea or a coffee or for a snack in the afternoon. It's an amazing cake.

Made with eggwhites and almond powder,

there is no more "what to do with eggwhites ?" obviously, a financier cake !

His name comes from its shape of a gold bar,

swiss Chefs took the recipe and gave it this original shape and name.

It really suits that cake :)

It has a thin gold crust outside and a tender almond taste inside. 

Its texture is unique, this cake is fresh and surprising.

The financier will rise a bit during cooking, it may also break on the top just like madeleines

I have individual molds in silicone, but I used some big brownie pans, and then cut it in squares.

The recipe is the one I took from my mom's cookbook a few years ago, I may have changed it a bit since but I don't remember ! This is the one I use.

For around 10 individual financiers (~4inch x 1.6inch)

   You will need :   

3 eggwhites

3.9 oz of white sugar (110gr)

2.5 oz of grounded almond powder (70gr) 

4tbsp of slightly melted butter (2.1 oz / 60gr)

- in a casserole to reach hazelnut shade, without too much cooking -

1.6 oz of flour (45gr)

 1tsp of apricot marmelade

- I don't always put some, just when I have some -

Mix with a fork or a whisk eggwhites and sugar for 1 minute

- and apricot marmelade if you have -

Add the almond powder, mix with a wooden spoon, then add the slightly melted butter

- that you've put in a casserole or in the microwave to melt it gently, without cooking -

It has to be smooth and homogeneous

Add the flour little by little by doing growing circular movements from the center of the bowl

Turn on the oven at 450°F

Let the dough rest in the bowl for 10 minutes

- if you put it in the oven when really hot, it helps the contrast crust outside/soft inside -

After 10 minutes, put it in your mold/cakepan, almost full

- butter them if they are not in silicon -

Put in the oven at medium high and turn down the oven at 350°F

Let it cook 25 minutes

Depending on your mold, it can go to 35 minutes of cooking

One more time, metallic molds are quicker to cook the cake, so be aware.

They have to be real gold, especially on the edges

Turn out the cakes when it got a bit cooler

- exterior gets harder, so it's easier to turn them out -

They are better the day you made them, don't try to keep them a long time !

                      

  

   To make the marbled one :   

Before adding the flour, cut your dough in half, in the first one, 

add 5tsp of unsweetened cocoa, and 0.7 oz of flour (20gr)

- it will be a bit thicker -

and in the second one, add 0.7oz of flour

When you will fill up th molds, pour at th same time the cocoa and the regular one,

by the separation half/half on the longest side

- 2 long lines -

Halloween recipe, a soft and tender pain d'épice (gingerbread)

Le Pain d'épices from Vovoi's cookbook :) Special Halloween season recipe !

It's a pretty classic cake, especially around halloween time ! The warmness of the mild spices as honey, anis and ginger are perfect for the autumn when the weathr gets cooler.

 I had never made one before, I thought I didn't like it, obviously I was wrong !

It's a light recipe, with no butter 

The cake is soft and tender, really tasty and smells really good.

I love it with my caffeine free tea, the honey has a lot of charm, and it mostly tastes like honey :)

The dough has to rest 1 hour, but beside that it's really quick-made cake, 5 minutes top.

For one big cake pan or two small ones :

  You will need :   

8.5 oz of flour (less than 2 cup / 240gr)

1tsp of baking soda

1/2 cup of white sugar (4.2 oz / 120gr)

4.4 fl oz. of milk (12 à 14cL)

- I've put whole milk -

1.4 to 1.8 oz of honey ( 2 big tbsp / 40 à 50gr)

1 big pinch of anis

a hint of ginger

In a bowl, put the flour, the sugar th baking soda and the milk,

blend it with a wooden spoon, cover with a wet napkin and let it rest for 1h

After 1 hour, turn on the oven at 275°F,

Add the hony and the spices, mix

Butter the cake pan, if it's a metallic one (non-silicone) butter & flour it

Fill the cakepan by half and put in the oven

It will double its size, the middle of th cake will rise at the end of the cooking.

It took mine 35/40 minutes of cooking, in 2 small silicones cake pan.

For metallic cakepans, it will be quicker, check the cooking after 25 minutes 

by inserting a clean and smooth knife in the middle, it has to go out clean.

For one big cakepan, it can be slower (like 50 minutes) 

you will have to check every 5 minutes after 30 minutes of cooking.

Crème panachée with no eggs - chocolate & kirsch cream

Among the first recipes of Vovoï's cookbook, there is a creme panachée (mixed flavoured cream).

A really foamy cream, light and delicious. She made it chocolate & coffee, but I'm not a huge fan of coffee dessert, so I changed it to make a chocolate-vanilla cream the first try, and a kirsch-chocolate cream the second time.

Flavours can be easily changed depending on your taste. They are added at the end of the recipe.

The contrast of colour and of taste is really pleasant, black and white is always a pleasant mix :)

The recipe is easy and quick, the only thing you could miss is the flour dilution.

For 4 small yogurt-size cup

   You will need :   

17 fl. oz of whole milk (50cL)

1.1 oz of flour (~ 30gr) (1 big tbsp.) 

- diluted in 1.7fl oz.of not cold milk (5cL) -

0.9 oz of white sugar (2tbsp / 25gr)

Put the milk in a wet casserole to boil

- the boiling milk and the whisk will make the cream rising, you need to pick a casserole with high sides -

Dilute the flour by putting it in a bowl, digging a well in it and pour the milk (1.7 fl oz) little by little in it, blending with a spoon. Flour has to be perfectly diluted in the milk

As soon as the milk starts boiling, pour the milk/flour in it and use a whisk to mix it.

The boiling must start again, keep using your whisk for 5 minutes while boiling.

Be careful the milk isn't burning/cooking on the inner surface.

After those 5 minutes, turn the heat off and keep mixing for 1 to 2 minutes,

Then pour your cream in to separate bowl, it's time to flavour it

- if you have some issues with the flour you can filter it -

 For the chocolate part, melt 1.0 to 1.4 oz of chocolate and mix it with it

for the vanilla half, add 1tsp. of vanilla extract and mix it with it

- for the kirsch half, 2tsp of kirsch -

Pour at the same time in your recipient/yogurt pot.

Let it rest in the fridge for at least 8 hours

This cream reminds me, at the taste and texture to the "viennois" I used to buy in stores, 

- the part under the whipped cream -

You cans erve it with a whipped cream, some  langues de chats or cigarettes :)

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Suggestions

chocolate and raspberries (mix raspberries and sugar together and add it to the cream)

chocolate and mint (1tsp of mint extract)

chocolate and orange (grated frozen orange)

lemon and raspberries (2tbsp of lemon juice)

coconut ?

You can do almost everything !

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Only chocolate cakes

This post will be updated with new recipes of chocolate cake, I have a few one in stock in Vovoï's cookbook, not even including my own :)

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#4

Chocolate and lemon buttery cake

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#3

Chocolate and almond cake

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#2

Vovoï's Swiss chocolate cake

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#1
Vovoï's creamy chocolate cake : First recipe

Crème pâtissière - French pastry cream

As I announced, here comes the recipe of the second famous cream !

The creme patissiere is considered "cooked", compared to the creme anglaise, it's thicker, creamier.

You can spread it on tarts... it kind of has the same consistency as mayonnaise.

It's also useful in recipe like the gâteau basque, the frangipane, or the chocolate puff (éclair au chocolat) etc. It can be vanilla, lemon, chocolate, coffee.... flavoured 

I will give you the classic vanilla recipe that you can use for a fruit tart for example !

For a big pie, multiply it so you will use 5 or 6 egg yolks. (Twice more than what I've written)

   You will need :   

For 3 egg yolks,

8.5 fl oz. of milk (25cL)

2 tbsp. of cooking starch

3tbsp of sugar

1/2 vanilla pod

Put you milk to boil in a wet casserole with the grated vanilla pod

Work in a bowl the sugar with the eggyolks until white and foamy

Then add the starch in it and mix it well

Verse the boiling milk in that bowl

- after removing the vanilla pod -

Mix a bit and put verything back in the casserole,

let it cook while mixing whith a whisk,

let it 2 minutes while boiling,

medium temperature once it boils

- still mixing it with your whisk -

Never stop mixing 

- Be careful it's not cooking on the inner surface, grate everywhere -

Let it get cooler in a bowl, covered with a plastic film 

or with powdered sugar to avoid a crust

You can spread it on your tart (pre-cooked, shortcrust or cookie dough)

You can keep it 3 to 4 days in the fridge

- on the picture above, it's a vanilla shortcrust dough -

- don't put too much cream ;) -

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Suggestions

For a chocolate cream, you can add 4oz of chocolate to melt in the milk

For a coffee one, add 1tsp of coffee extract in the milk.

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Langue de chat - Cat's biscuit

How to get rid of eggwhites...

There is the financier, some salted apetizers, the tuiles, the cigarettes and the langues de chat !

My favourite one is the financier, which a almond flavoured,

but those little biscuits can be pretty good

with a lot of various way to eat them

It's a really easy recipe, here is the basic one, 

you can multiply it depending on the number of eggwhites you have

   You will need :   

0.8fl oz Heavy whipping cream (2,5cL)

1.4 oz of white sugar (40gr)

1.4 oz of flour (40gr)

1 eggwhite

drops of vanilla extract

Turn on your oven at 360°F

Mix the cream with the sugar and the vanilla, until it's smooth and foamy

add the flour in 2 times, mix well everytime

Beat the eggwhites until stiff and add them in 2 times

Put small teaspoon of that mix on a buttered tray,

give them a long oval shape

- 0.6 to 0.8inch wide to 1.6inch long -

Let it cook for 12 to 16 minutes depending on your taste, they will flatten

the edges will turn gold but the heart will stay white

Let it cool on a grill

Keep them in an hermetic box or plastic bag, with not much air
after they cooled down completely

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Suggestions : 

Grated chocolate on the top when they are out of the oven

Dip them in melted chocolate once they are cool

Orange or lemon flavour instead of vanilla

Add 1tsp of unsweetened cocoa with the flour

Add 1tsp of coconut with the cream

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Enjoy !