Financiers

Hello,

So today I'm sharing a very french recipe!

And I'm talking a little bit about why I love France!

I know it sounds cliche, you either love it (for pretty much the same reasons everyone does) or you hate it.

Well, I chose to love it. After all, I love cooking, I love food and they are really good at it!

I love how a traditional french meal can be comprised of only comfort food, or only of very refined food.

They have created the idea of fine dining and yet they never lost themselves, food there is not just pretty, is also delicious, it has to be tasty.
And to top it all pastry as it is today wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the French, and since I'm a pastry chef, I have to thank them a lot for it.
From the amazing financiers, the croissants, all of the different gateaus and the bread, going to France means eating a lot! In every meal!
And after all this I don`t think I can make myself clearer of how much I love the country.

To sum up, how can I not love them?

Financiers with apricot jam

Ingredients

60g butter (approx 2.11oz)
60g egg whites (approx 2.11oz)
72g confectioner sugar (or powdered sugar) (approx 2.45oz)
24g ground almonds (approx 0.85oz)
38g flour (approx 1.34oz)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons apricot jam
Method:

1. Melt the butter in a pan. Pre-heat the oven at 210°C (410°F).
2. Sift the confectioner's sugar, ground almonds and flour together. Add the vanilla extract.
3. Incorporate gently the egg whites to the dry ingredients, until you have a homogeneous batter. 
4. Pour the melted butter and stir it in, until it's completely incorporated.
5. Pour the batter in small greased baking pan, or small molds, fill until half the height.
6. Using a teaspoon, add a little bit of apricot jam to each portion of batter.
7. Take it to the oven and bake it for 10-12 minutes or until they are golden brown. Take it off the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes before taking them off the pan.

It yields approximately 8 financiers.

Tip 1: The original recipe is made with brown butter, which is nothing more than butter melted until it becomes brown. If you want to make it, melt the butter in a pan, and keep it on the heat until it starts turning brown. But be careful! Use low heat, because once it starts turning its color, the reaction happens very fast and you run the risk of burning your butter. So, once the color changes take it off the heat.
Tip 2: If you want to use another jam flavor, be my guest. You can use blueberries, raspberries, or none at all. Then afterwards you can serve the financiers with jam on the side. Or you can put them on top of the financier.
Tip 3: If you live in the US or somewhere where you use oz instead of g, you can multiply the recipe until you get to proper quantities.