Chocolate Financiers

I love making and eating madeleines, but financiers have been a newer recipe in my repertoire. I’ve never seen it in a bakery until I visited Paris and had to get them. And boy were they good! Even then, I was sticking to my good ‘ole madeleines (also a French commodity). Honestly, it was just the lack of a financier pan that stopped me from making financiers. I could have easily solved this problem by buying a pan, but I always thought: hey, financiers are just madeleines in a rectangular shape, right?

But no, they are actually quite different! The only similarity is the cake-like consistency, but as you may know, cakes come in all different shapes and sizes (flavors and densities). Here’s the major difference: financiers use egg whites only, whereas madeleines will use the whole egg. This makes financiers a bit fluffier and lighter than their sister pastry. And not only that, financiers are even more greedier than ignoring those poor egg yolks: they require more sugar and also nut-based flour.

Okay, maybe I down-played financiers a bit, but hear me out! They are so delicious and ugh, I could just sit and eat them on and on. They actually taste just as sweet as madeleines, with the perfect amount of egg that doesn’t overwhelm. They’re super cute finger foods that are awesome as snacks and easy to share (if you dare!). Doesn’t this sound perfect: afternoon tea with financiers? Or alternatively for breakfast, morning coffee and a little sweet financier to gently wake you up? Either way, you can’t go wrong!

Here, I’ve done a chocolate take on the traditional financier. Usually, they’re just almond flavored like the old-time Parisians liked it for a snack in between stock exchanges. Enjoy!