Red currant financiers + The Smiths

As you know I wasn’t familiar with most of the cast of the wonderful “Animal Kingdom”, so as soon as the movie ended I went to IMDb for some information and that was how I found out that one of James Frecheville’s next projects is a movie about the demise of my #1 band – I found the synopsis really interesting and the title chosen for the movie absolutely perfect (it is one of my most favorite songs, too).

After the London Olympics Closing Ceremony ended, I was talking to a couple of friends about how I thought The Smiths should have been mentioned during the show being one of the most important British bands in History, and we wondered if that had been a decision made by the people in charge of the ceremony because of the band’s political criticism or if Morrissey hadn’t allowed the songs to be used – both scenarios make a lot of sense, I think. :)

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I find red currants one of the most beautiful things Nature has to offer when it comes to fruit: they look like gems. The first time I saw fresh red currants was years ago at the Borough Market – I had never seen them here in Brazil before. What a lovely surprise it was to find some at a grocery store a couple of weeks ago – I ignored the price and brought home a small box of the precious berries, turning some of them into these delicate financiers.

Red currant financiers
adapted from the wonderful Simply Bill

2/3 cup (67g) almond meal
¾ cup (105g) icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
1/3 cup (47g) all purpose flour
pinch of salt
4 egg whites (112g)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
about 70g fresh red currants

Butter and flour eighteen 2-tablespoon capacity financier molds.
In a medium bowl, sift together the almond meal, icing sugar, flour and salt. Stir in the egg whites and vanilla until just combined. Stir in the melted butter. Refrigerate the batter for 30 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Divide the batter evenly among the pans. Arrange the red currants on top of each financier.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until risen and golden - the friands should spring back when touched. Remove from the oven and leave in the pans over a wire rack for 5 minutes, then carefully unmold onto the rack to cool.
Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Makes 18