French almond cakes
Crisp edges • moist center
Brown-butter flavor
Tip: Rest the batter chilled for best texture and domed tops.
Ingredients
- Ground almonds (almond flour) – 133 g
- Icing sugar – 370 g
- T55 flour (or AP flour) – 140 g
- Baking powder – 4 g
- Fine salt – 3 g
- Egg whites (unwhipped) – 310 g
- Unsalted butter – 200 g
- Trimoline (invert sugar) – 35 g (or mild honey)
Yield: varies with mold size (mini/standard financier or small muffin molds).
Equipment
- Small saucepan (for brown butter)
- Mixing bowl & whisk/spatula
- Financier or small bar/muffin molds
- Piping bag or spoon
Method
- Brown the butter: Melt 200 g butter over medium heat until the milk solids turn golden and smell nutty. Strain and let cool to warm.
- Combine dry: In a bowl whisk together almond flour, icing sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add egg whites: Pour in the unwhipped egg whites and mix until smooth and thick.
- Finish batter: Mix in trimoline (or honey). Stream the warm brown butter in while stirring until fully emulsified.
- Rest: Cover and refrigerate 1–2 hours (overnight best).
- Bake: Heat oven to 180 °C / 356 °F. Lightly grease molds. Fill each about ¾ full. Bake 12–15 min until edges are deep golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool: Rest 2–3 min, unmold, and cool on a rack. Dust with icing sugar if you like.
Pro Tips
- Resting develops flavor and helps get classic domed tops.
- A pinch of vanilla, orange zest, or a raspberry on top is lovely.
- Store airtight; they stay moist for several days.
