Irresistible Chocolate Financiers recipe are a quick and easy dessert guaranteed to be the perfect ending to a meal. Bite-sized dark chocolate almond cakes have a hint of nuttiness from almond flour and browned butter with the perfect balance of sweetness.
chocolate financiers recipe – almond flour cakes
Since my other financier recipe proved to be such a highly-addicting, irresistible dessert, how could I go wrong with adding an infusion of rich, dark chocolate?!
Chocolate financiers are a spin off the traditional French almond dessert cakes. Typically they are enjoyed with tea, as a light snack, or a sweet bite after a meal. The texture is soft and chewy, with a crisp, buttery edge.
This chocolate financier recipe adds a double chocolate punch with unsweetened cocoa powder and melted bittersweet chocolate. The combination gives a deep fudgy flavor, similar to homemade brownies.
Ingredients notes
Butter – Use unsalted butter to make browned butter for a nutty, enhanced flavor or simply melt to save a step. If using salted butter, omit the salt from the recipe.
Bittersweet Chocolate – I used Baker’s Bittersweet Chocolate, which is 66% cacoa.
Almond Flour – Use finely sifted, blanched, not almond meal. For more the best almond flour recipes, check out this valuable, free resource!
Flour – Regular all-purpose or gluten-free all purpose works great to enjoy a gluten-free financier!
Cocoa Powder – For best results use dutch-processed cocoa powder, which has smoother, less bitter taste.
How To Make chocolate financiers
(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)
- First, preheat the oven to 375ºF and liberally grease 20 mini-muffin tins with baking spray.
- Next, brown the butter and immediately pour into a small bowl with bittersweet chocolate, stirring to melt.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the almond flour, sugar, chocolate powder, flour, and salt. Stir in the egg whites and then browned butter / chocolate mixture.
- Distribute the batter into the mini-muffin pan. To do this quickly and evenly, use a heaping small cookie scoop, which holds about a little over 1 tablespoon of dough.
- If desired, top with sliced almonds, chopped chocolate, or cherries. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tops just start to crack.
tips, tricks, and modifications
- Almond Flour has a tendency to clump together. For best results, sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl before adding the liquids.
- Place a variety of flavor enhancers on top, such as turbinado sugar to enhance the chewy crust, fresh berries, slivered almonds, maraschino cherries, or chopped chocolate.
- If adding anything before baking, be sure to rest it right on top, without pressing down. As the financiers bake, the toppings will sink down slightly into the middle.
frequently asked questions
A couple tablespoons of flour is added to help bind together the ingredients. Since it’s such a small amount of flour, swapping it out gluten-free all purpose flour, does not affect the recipe at all.
So make gluten-free chocolate financiers with ease and no one will recognize any difference in taste or texture!
No. If you’d like to save yourself a step, simply melt the butter and pour it over the bittersweet chocolate to melt.
Yes. If you have blanched (slivered almonds without skins) and a food processor you can make your own almond flour in seconds. For more detailed instructions and pictures, go to my almond flour recipes post.
They are called financiers because they were baked in a mold pan shaped like a bar of gold. To avoid buying another pan, a non-stick mini-muffin pan works great!
More almond flour desserts
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Fudgy Almond Flour Brownies
- Almond Flour Peanut Butter Cookies
- Almond Flour Pie Crust
- Oatmeal Almond Flour Cookies
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Chocolate Financiers
Ingredients
- 1 ounce (28 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 5 tablespoons (71 g) unsalted butter
- ¾ cup (85 g or 3 oz) finely ground almond flour
- ½ cup (113 g or 4 oz) granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons (25 g) dutch-processed (preferred) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten free flour, (I recommend Cup4Cup GF flour)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (75 g) egg whites
- (optional) turbinado sugar, chopped chocolate, maraschino cherries, or slivered almonds for tops
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and liberally grease 20 mini-muffin tins with baking spray. Weigh chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl.
- To brown the butter, in a small skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is fully melted watch carefully and stir occasionally so butter doesn't burn. First the butter will foam, then the white milk solids will start to settle at the bottom. Watch for the milk solids to turn brown. Once that happens, immediately remove from heat. Pour the browned butter into the bowl with chocolate to melt, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the almond flour, sugar, cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Stir in the egg whites, making sure there are no clumps of flour. Stir in the butter / chocolate mixture, mixing well.
- Distribute the batter into 20 prepared mini-muffin tins. To do this quickly and evenly, use a slightly heaping small cookie scoop, which holds a heaping 1 tablespoon of dough.
- If desired, sprinkle turbinado sugar on top then place sliced almonds, chopped chocolate, or a cherry gently on top. Do not press down because it will sink down as it bakes.
- Bake for 10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through, until the tops are set and just start to crack. Cool for 5 minutes in pan, then run a small knife around the outside of each tin and pop out onto a wire cooling rack. Cool slightly before serving. Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container up to 3 days.
Equipment Needed
Recipe Notes
How to Store:
These almond flour cakes will stay good in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week. To store longer, they may also be wrapped securely and frozen up to 2 months.tips, tricks, and modifications
- Almond Flour has a tendency to clump together. For best results, sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl before adding the liquids.
- Place a variety of flavor enhancers on top, such as turbinado sugar to enhance the chewy crust, fresh berries, slivered almonds, maraschino cherries, or chopped chocolate.
- If adding anything before baking, be sure to rest it right on top, without pressing down. As the financiers bake, the toppings will sink down slightly into the middle.
Nutrition
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Rosie says
Thank you… I will get some almond flour then x
Rosie says
Can you use gluten free flour instead of almond four?
Melissa says
Hi Rosie,
No, sorry, not with this recipe. I didn’t test it with regular flour and I don’t think the results would be the same.
Best,
Melissa
Rosie says
Thank you… I will get some almond flour then x