Aperitif financiers - great with a glass of sparkling wine

If you’ve been here a while you probably know that I love financiers: I’ve made them in many different flavors for they are delicious and also a great way of using leftover egg whites (something I happen to have in my freezer quite often).

Savory financiers, however, was something I hadn’t tried before, and the ones on Rachel Khoo’s gorgeous cookbook looked so adorable I had to try them – they were part of my Christmas Eve dinner, something to be nibbled with drinks before the actual dinner was served.

The financiers turned out tasty and oh, so cute, making the table look even prettier – they were perfect paired with a glass of Prosecco and I’ll be making them again for my New Year’s dinner next week.

Aperitif financiers
slightly adapted from the oh, so beautiful The Little Paris Kitchen: 120 Simple But Classic French Recipes

65g unsalted butter, chopped
½ cup (50g) almond meal
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon granulated sugar
2 eggs, separated
generous pinch of salt
12 small pieces of parmesan
6-8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
about 5 olives, sliced in rings

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour twelve 2-tablespoon capacity financier or mini muffin molds.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until it turns golden brown, then remove from the heat and cool to lukewarm.
In a small bowl, mix the almond meal, flour, baking powder and sugar. Set aside. In another small bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. In a third small bowl, place the yolks and slowly whisk in the warm butter. Fold this into the dry ingredients, then fold in the egg whites.
Spoon the batter into the prepared molds and top each with a piece of cheese, tomato halves and the olives, pushing slightly into the batter. Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden. Unmold immediately onto a wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12