Cake Financier by Christophe Michalak (World Pastry Champion 2005)

A Financier cake by Christophe Michalak, with a light and delicate texture, made with almonds, powdered sugar, and a sweet touch of honey.
baked
cake
dessert
vegetarian
Ingredients
Servings
6
Measurement units

Ingredients

  • 105 gpowdered sugar
  • 45 ghoney
  • 50 gall-purpose flour
  • 55 galmond flour
  • 1 chemical leavening agent (Royal baking powder)
  • 1 salt
  • 115 gegg whites
  • 80 gbrowned butter (*)
Nutritional Information

Per serving

Calculated for 6 servings

Calories
347 kcal
Protein
18.5 g
Fat
15.6 g
Carbohydrates
33.2 g

Calculated from reviewed ingredient weights and pinned USDA FoodData Central records.

Step-by-step Guide

Prepare the Dough

  1. Preheat the oven to 165 ºC for at least 10 minutes to ensure it reaches a consistent temperature.
  2. In a bowl, mix the sifted flour, almond powder, icing sugar, salt, and baking powder with a wooden spoon until well integrated.
  3. In another bowl, add the honey and slowly pour in the melted butter while stirring with a whisk until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
  4. The egg whites should not be whipped, but they need to be lightly beaten with a fork until they form a little foam and incorporate some air.
  5. Add the unbeaten egg whites to the flour bowl and stir with the whisk until the mixture is uniform.
  6. When the dough is well integrated, add the brown butter (liquid and hot) and stir thoroughly with a manual whisk until all ingredients are well combined.
  7. Grease the mold with butter and lightly flour it, or line it with baking paper before adding the dough.
  8. Fill the mold up to about 3/4 of its capacity to allow the dough to rise during baking.
  9. Bake at 165 ºC for approximately 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Recommendations & Tricks
  • Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat until it turns a light brown color, like hazelnut, and releases a nutty aroma. This will take approximately 5-8 minutes. Be careful not to burn it.
  • Use powdered sugar instead of traditional sugar to ensure a finer and fluffier texture in the cake.
  • Mix the honey with the other liquids to facilitate its uniform integration with the dry ingredients.
  • Sift the cake flour with the almond flour to avoid lumps and ensure a smooth batter.
Original recipe
View or download the original PDF document.
Download PDF
    Cake Financier by Christophe Michalak (World Pastry Champion 2005) | The Catalan Table