Pistachio Financiers
Grab your cup of coffee and make these buttery pistachio financiers! Quick and easy to make, these French, brown butter cakes are bursting with pistachio flavors. They’re perfect to make in a pinch especially if you don’t have a mixer at hand.
What is a Financier Dessert in English?
Financiers (pronounced fee-non-see-AY) are a French pastry made with nut flour (usually almond) and browned butter. This pistachio financier recipe has cake like texture with few ingredients but is heavier and denser than cake would be. While, traditionally, financier cake calls for almond flour, you can substitute it for other nut flours such as this easy pistachio financier recipe. But what’s the difference between financiers and madeleines? While both are buttery, cake like French pastries, financiers only use egg whites and no raising agent while Madeleines use baking powder and the whole egg. With that butter, financiers brown it while Madeleines do not, and both have separate, defined shapes.
Why is Financier Cake Called Financier?
Financiers first came about in the middle ages in France. Nuns created these treats with browned butter, egg whites, and nuts and actually called them visitandines. The financiers we know and love today came about in the 19th century from a pastry chef with a patisserie near the Paris stock exchange. He wanted to create a dessert that appealed to the brokers by making it look like gold as the original shape was a rectangle. They were a hit as the brokers could quickly and easily enjoy these treats without staining their fingers or suits. The term financier translates to financial professional which is why they got their name! Read more here.
Pistachio Financiers Ingredients
- Pistachio flour: You can buy this online or make your own for this nutty bake. The color is definitely greener when purchased over making.
- Brown butter: This is what makes financiers financiers! I do love brown butter so be sure to check out my other recipes.
- Egg whites: This recipe can be heavy on the egg whites, so if you haven’t got a stock of egg whites in your fridge like I do, be sure to check out my egg yolk heavy desserts!
Major Allergens Present: Nuts, eggs, gluten, dairy (butter)
Equipment Needed for Pistachio Financiers
- One of my few recipes that does not require the use of a mixer!
- Food processor: Used to make the nut flour with. If you have or bought pistachio flour specifically, then you will not need a food processor.
- Mini muffin tin: To bake the financiers in. Mine is a 24 but you could use large ones or any mold you’d like. Just keep in mind the bake times and amount of batter used may vary.
How to Make Pistachio Financiers:
What is a Financier Made Out Of?
Pistachio financier cake is made out of few, yet delicious ingredients. We have the usual suspects of flour, sugar, eggs, but what makes these a deliciously nutty bake is the browned butter and ground up pistachios to make pistachio flour. The high amount of brown butter and lack of leavening agents make financiers denser than cake. Financiers are a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee, especially during the afternoon lag.
Brown the Butter
What makes the financier a financier is the browned butter. Definitely brown this right away since it takes some time to cool down to room temperature before it’s ready for use otherwise you’ll cook your batter before baking. When browning butter, use a medium sized pan since it does bubble and expand while cooking. Browned butter smells very nutty so you’ll know it’s ready when you smell it. It will also turn a nice brown color (hence the name). Browned butter is basically boiled oil, so be very careful not to burn yourself!
Mix the Easy Pistachio Financiers Batter
This pistachio financiers recipe is super easy to mix together. Start by making pistachio flour by grinding the nuts with the flour until super fine. Then mix all the ingredients except the brown butter together. Finally, once the butter has cooled down to room temperature, pour in the brown butter and mix! When adding the brown butter, scrape up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan; they contain a lot of flavor.
Bake and Enjoy the Pistachio Financier Cake
Scoop the batter into a pan sprayed mini muffin tin leaving about 1/4″ of room at the top. Bake until the tops spring back when poked making sure to rotate half way through baking to ensure even baking. Allow to cool and top with powdered sugar before serving pistachio financier cake either warm or at room temperature with a cup of coffee.
Help Making Easy Pistachio Financiers:
How to Brown Butter:
- Choose a medium sized pot for this financier recipe and larger if you multiply it. The butter will foam and rise in the pot, so if you choose a pot too small it may bubble right out.
- Once it reaches the foaming stage, it will stop boiling and just brown. You will need to swirl the pan around to see the color beneath the foam. You are looking for a deep golden brown and a nutty aroma.
- Remove from heat immediately and allow to cool completely before adding it. If you add it right away you could cook your batter before baking it. Also, definitely do not go for a spoon taste before cooling because that is hot oil!
- Scrape all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan; that’s where all the yummy flavor is!
- If you love brown butter as much as I do then check out my other brown butter recipes!
How to Make Your Own Nut Flour:
- Most grocery stores do not sell other versions of nut flours like pistachio so you’ll most likely have to make your own which is super easy to do with a food processor.
- Combine the nuts with either the flour or the powdered sugar. When making nut flour you will always need to mix it with a powdery ingredient that gets added together with the pistachio flour. Grind in a food processor until super fine. You may need to run it through several times to get all the pistachios.
- The flour or powdered sugar act as a buffer preventing the pistachios oils from coming totally out and forming a paste which is why you can’t grind them alone.
Enhancing This Pistachio Financiers Recipe:
- Add some orange zest and a teaspoon of extract to the batter to take advantage of citrus season and make these orange pistachio financiers.
- Right before popping in the oven, insert a raspberry (or any fruit) in the center for a pistachio raspberry financier!
- Use a different nut like hazelnuts, almonds, or pecans.
How to Store and Freeze Pistachio Financiers:
- Freeze the batter in an airtight container for up to 6 months.
- Store baked pistachio financiers covered at room temperature for up to 7 days or in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Troubleshooting Pistachio Financiers:
- I have weird lumps in my batter: Your butter was too hot before adding and you cooked some of your egg whites. Next time, make sure your browned butter is at the most warm.
Something else going wrong? Reach out and we will troubleshoot together!
Pistachio Financiers
Equipment
- Mini cupcake/muffin tin
- Food processor
Ingredients
Financiers
- 1¼ stick Butter, unsalted
- 62 g Pistachios
- 62 g All purpose flour
- 152 g Powdered sugar plus extra for dusting
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 5 ea Egg whites
Instructions
To make the financiers:
- Melt the butter in a medium sized pot on medium high heat and then cook until brown with a nutty aroma. Allow to cool until lightly warm.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare a mini cupcake/muffin tray with pan spray.
- Skip this step if you purchased pistachio flour. Combine the pistachios and flour in your food processor and grind until the pistachios are super fine like flour.
- Combine your pistachio flour in a bowl with the powdered sugar, salt, and egg whites and mix.
- Slowly whisk in the browned butter making sure to scrape in all the delicious browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
- Scoop or pipe into the prepared tray three-quarters of the way.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes rotating the pan halfway through. The financiers should spring back with poked when ready.
- Allow to cool before removing from the pan and dusting with powdered sugar.
Nutrition
Omggggggggg! These were literally so delicious and were so easy to make. Plus, I felt very fancy eating them!
I didn’t know I could make financiers with pistachios! Loved how they came out.
Came across your site by accident. Love this recipe. Easy and delicious. Will be your follower from now on. Thanks
Thanks so much Sue! Happy to hear this recipe worked out well 🙂