Friands or financiers...

This is a recipe I have been looking at for ages now since I first saw it on a very fancy blog called What Katie Ate. These french "tea-cakes" might not look much to the world but the taste is absolutely fantastic. Dense, nutty and buttery this little number appears in various small shapes. The name Friand means "dainty" or "tasty" but they are mainly known by the name Financiers, that because the shop where the recipe was created was located very close to the Paris stock exchange. Originally the cakes were baked in rectangular moulds to resemble bars of gold.
I find these little stories quite amusing to read and this one made me want to bake Financiers even more. What makes them so nice is the toasting of almonds that will bring out some lovely flavours in the nuts and most important; Beurre Noisette, or directly translated from French "brown butter". It will give a very nutty and deep flavour to the butter and when you bite in to a fresh Financier you will not regret this step.
The Financiers can be flavoured with fresh berries or fruit but I made these plain and it was very tasty like that. Maybe next time I will try out some flavour.

12 Financiers

110 grams butter
30 grams plain flour
50 grams ground almonds
90 grams icing sugar
3 egg whites (90 grams)
1 pinch of salt

Start with toasting the ground almonds on a tray in the middle of the oven on 150C until golden, 8-10 min. Let cool down.
Put butter in a small pot on a medium heat, when melted let it come to the boil, stirring or swirling occasionally. A foam will appear on the surface, continue to boil until it looks clear and all the foam/milk parts has sunk to the bottom of the pan. Ad soon as a nutty smell starts to appear and the butter looks deep brown (not black) take of the heat and strain through a fine sieve. Set a side to cool.
Combine flour, almonds, icing sugar and salt in a bowl. Whisk the egg whites lightly and fold in to the dry mix together with the butter. Stir until smooth and divide into 12 small moulds well buttered and floured. Bake for 5-7min on 200C.