Coffee and pecan financiers – Ottolenghi

Method :

• 1)

  Preheat your oven to 150°C Fan.
  Spread the pecans for both the financiers and the cream (200g) on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and place them in the oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until they take on a light golden colour.
  Use the flat side of a large knife to gently crush them. Reserve half for the financiers and the other half to infuse the cream.

• 2)

  To prepare the financiers, we’ll need brown butter. Start by placing the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Once it begins to foam, cook it for 3 to 4 minutes, until it turns golden and releases a nutty aroma.
  Strain it through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth and set it aside for about 15 minutes to cool slightly.

• 3)

  Meanwhile, let’s prep the rest of the ingredients. In a large bowl, sift together the icing sugar, flour, malt powder, baking powder, almond flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ground coffee. Mix well and set aside.

  In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks—this will take about 3 minutes by hand or just 1 minute with an electric whisk.

  
  Using a spatula fold the whites into the dry ingredients, followed by the espresso.

  
  Then pour in half the browned butter, continuing to fold by hand as you pour in the remaining butter.

  
  Finally, fold in the pecan.

  
  Cover the surface of the mixture with a cling film to prevent a crust from forming, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

• 4)

  Prepare the coffee and pecan cream.

  I didn’t use pecans in the cream since they’ll be used solely to infuse the cream and then removed. Instead, I opted to simply use the coffee, and it turned out divine.
  Place the espresso in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer over high heat for about 1½ minutes, swirling the pan to reduce the liquid by half. Add the pecans, cream, and brown sugar, and bring back to a boil. Cook for 4 minutes to allow the cream to thicken, then remove from heat. Let it cool for at least 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
  If you let it chill overnight, the cream will thicken; you’ll need to gently reheat it in the saucepan for 1 to 2 minutes to loosen it up. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a medium bowl and let it cool.
  At this point, you can discard the pecans (you can eat them if you’d like, but they certainly don’t look very appealing).
  Whip the cream mixture for about 2-3 minutes with an electric whisk until you achieve a soft peak texture, similar to a light mousse. Be careful not to over-whip; if you do, simply add a bit of milk to loosen the mixture.
  Keep it refrigerated until you’re ready to serve.

• 5)

  Preheat your oven to 180°C Fan (200 for Ottolenghi).
  Grease the muffin tin with a diameter of 5 cm and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles; this step isn’t necessary if you’re using silicone molds. You’ll have enough batter to make 25 financiers. Fill each mold about three-quarters full with the mixture.

  
  bake for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cakes are golden brown on top and just cooked through : a knife inserted should come out clean.

  
  Remove from the oven and set aside to rest for 5 minutes, before removing them from the tray.

• 6)

  Serve warm or at room temperature, with the pecan coffee cream alongside.

  Enjoy !!