Saturday, July 10, 2010

CHERRY CUPCAKE FINANCIERS

Awww....these little Cherry Financiers made the Top 9  on Foodbuzz ~ 11th July ~ Happy Buzzday! Thank you to the Foodbuzz community :)

I would never have attempted these cakes because I never did like the flavour of almonds. I also imagined that for a cake to be called financier it couldn't be a good thing and because I believed madeleine-like cakes to be simply dry sponge cakes. 

So I was glad when Sarah-Jane of siliconeMoulds.com had posted some financiers on her lovely blog and made them look anything but dry, financial or mercenary. Now I know how delicious these little cakes are.

They were literally bursting over the top, each with a big, juicy, red cherry that looked like it was trying to burrow its way in but failing quite miserably because it was simply too fat. And too cute.


And true to what Sarah-Jane had said....these were simply, simply delicious. Very moist because of the double proportion of ground almonds to flour, the browned butter gave it a beautiful nutty flavour, it also had not the almondy flavour that was not to my liking and of course, for me, the big fat adorable juicy cherry just topped it all. 



And a little history before the recipe : According to Wikipedia they are believed to be called financiers because they became popular in the financial district of Paris around the Paris stock exchange. They were originally believed to be baked in small rectangular moulds thus resembling gold ingots which could be another reason they were called financiers.




The Recipe ~ adapted wholly from Sarah-Jane of SiliconeMoulds.com

I had doubled the recipe below because I baked them in normal  sized cupcake cases. I got 6 lovely bursting with cherry financiers. 

70 gm ground almonds
105 gm icing sugar
35 gm plain flour
92 gm butter ( I used salted)
92 gm egg whites ( I used 3 eggs)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

6 fresh whole cherries with stems attached

Preheat the oven to 200 C

Brown the butter to a nut brown.

Sift all dry ingredients into a medium bowl and mix well. (I used an electric mixer). Add in the egg whites and mix until evenly blended. Add the hot browned butter and mix it in quickly until the mixture is well mixed.

Pour into prepared cupcake cases almost right to the top. ( I had a space of about 1/8 of an inch between the edge of the rim and the top of the batter). Then top with a whole cherry on each with its stem attached.

Put in the oven and bake at 200 C for 10 minutes after which I reduced the temperature to 180 C and baked for about another 15-20 minutes until the cakes were risen, golden brown and cooked firmly in the centre. Test with a toothpick. If it comes out clean without anything gooey attached its done. 

(You may tent the cakes with a piece of foil if it gets brown too quickly while the centre is not cooked yet).


33 comments:

Angie's Recipes said...

Love your cupcake-like finaciers...very pretty and perfectly baked with pop-off crown!

Anonymous said...

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee cantiknyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

juli (malasnya nak login) lol

mummy was this later afternoon or mid morning?

Zurin said...

Tq Angie :))

Juli,
between 11 and noon dear. :)))

Luciana said...

Congratulations my dear...they're very good and inviting!!!!!

Federica Simoni said...

complimenti!!!aspettami per colazione!!!!

devono essere una delizia!!
ciaoooooooooooooo!!

busygran said...

Very nice, I like the crusty top. The cupcake cases are pretty.

Chef Dennis Littley said...

what a perfect little cake! I remember seeing a financier in Paris but I never tried one, yours looks oh so good, and I love the cherry!

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

This is literally Cherry On A Cake! First time I see a financier done this way. Really interesting! I am quite the opposite to you - I love everything Almond :)... I know there are people who would abstain from almond extract e.g. almond jelly because it smells like cockroach droppings - but I love it...(only learnt much later that cockroach droppings indeed smell like almond extract.)

pigpigscorner said...

I love cakes made with ground almonds. The texture and flavour is so different!

Sarah-Jane - SiliconeMoulds.com said...

oh Zurin - I feel honoured that you've had a go at one of my recipes. I'm glad you liked them.

Until I made these, I would never have believed cherries or cake could taste so good. These are definately my all time favourite so far.

I love the pretty cupcake cases - very delicate and summery :-)

Clare @ Mrs Multitasker said...

Looks beautiful and delicious zurin! I absolutely love financiers and they make such a great gift too. I have another terrific financier recipe if you'd like to try (mine look more the gold ingot type =): http://mrsmultitasker.com/2010/03/14/financiers/

Umm Mymoonah said...

That looks truely amazing, so cute on that beautiful cups.

ann low said...

This looks fabulous and I must try to make this one day.

WendyinKK said...

Cherries are now at RM10 plus per punnet at Jusco, and it's so much cheaper than last year.

that stem sticking out is calling me to make some... I've got cherries in my fridge now..

Shaheen said...

the cherry on top gives it that additional YUM factor.

Amanda said...

I made financiers last year, but these are totally different, they look awesome! And those little dishes are beautiful!

Kathleen said...

These look not only beautiful but incredibly delicious as well!

Unknown said...

Zurin, these are absolutely beautiful, I loved seeing your photographs, thanks, Patty

Anonymous said...

Hi, Zurin. Great photo, befitting your blog's name! I enjoyed reading about this clever interpretation of a financier. Good for you to have received Fb Top 9 again!

Thanks,

Dan

MaryMoh said...

What a beautiful name. I love how it burst out at the top. Looks like it blooms out into a flower...beautiful!!

Tina said...

i love teacakes like this!! what gorgeous cupcakes that doesn't come close to looking as boring as its name!!

Mary Bergfeld said...

These look delicious. I love almonds and am really attracted to desserts that use them. I love the crowns on your cakes. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings...Mary

Sarah-Jane - SiliconeMoulds.com said...

Congratulations Zurin ! You certainley deserve it x

Zurin said...

Sarah,
its your wonderful recipe and idea so I thank you!!

Cathy said...

Lovely, Zurin. The cake is literally bursting with almond flavor and that beautiful cherry nestled on top.

My Man's Belly said...

How cute are these!

Congratulations on the Top 9!

Velva said...

These little cherry cupcakes do look delicious. Wow! I can see why they ranked high at Food buzz. Awesome.

We Are Not Martha said...

You can just see from the photos how moist and delicious these are!! And so beautiful too! I love the papers and cherry on top :)

Sues

Bakericious said...

this is so pretty, and must b yummy too

Joy said...

That looks great. I just make a chocolate version this past week. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

Trissa said...

That certainly looks scrumptious. Very cute with the cherry on top - and I can tell that they are truly so moist because of the almond meal.

Dina said...

they are darling. i love the photos.

Zurin said...

To a reader who emailed me about this recipe.....Im so so sorry but I accidentally deleted your email.

In answer to your question as I rememebr it..

you said your cherries 'melted?"...perhaps your cherries were over ripe?...and as to why it didnts stay on top....well maybe the next time you make this either don't push the cherry too far in or put it on only halfway thru baking.

I do hope that helps...i hope youll have a successful bake next time.:)

zurin

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