A French-style tea cake with American flavors, these banana bourbon financiers are full of caramelized bananas, a bit of bourbon, and topped with chopped pecans for the perfect fall dessert pick-me-up!
While the madeleine— a light, spongey French tea cake– is one of the most popular French baked goods in the US, I have a slight preference for the financier. A staple in most French bakeries, the financier is a French tea cake made with no artificial leavening agents, just almond flour, melted butter (usually brown butter) and egg whites. If the name sounds a lot like the word finance to you, well, there’s a reason for that! One theory is that a 19th-century baker named Lasne who had a shop near the Bourse (the Wall Street area of Paris) started making small, rectangular tea cakes shaped like bars of gold to appeal to the financial workers frequenting his shop. Others suggest that Lasne simply popularized a much older recipe called the visitandine made by an order of nuns centuries before. Regardless of its exact origins, financiers are a delicious treat that can be adapted to many flavor combinations (although in France you’ll most likely only encounter traditional flavors like almond or pistachio).
Although traditionally baked in small, rectangular molds, financiers can also be baked in these mini square tins or in a regular muffin tin. Traditionalists might object to changing the shape of a financier, but if it means having less specialized baking equipment accumulating in your kitchen, then so be it! If using a muffin tin, remember that there is no leavening agent in financiers so they will not rise like a muffin or cupcake. The tops may be a bit pale because of that, but they will still be delicious!
PS: If you’re looking for more banana or bourbon-flavored desserts, check out my recipe for bourbon banana bread here or these delicious caramelized banana and chocolate cookies or this bourbon pecan coffee cake!
Banana Bourbon Financiers
Equipment
- 1 financier tin or muffin tin (see notes in recipe)
Ingredients
- 8 tbsp butter, plus 2 tbsp (1 for greasing the pan, 1 for the bananas) melted
- 1 tbsp sugar for greasing (can use flour instead)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 3 egg whites, whipped to soft peaks
- 1 banana
- 1 tbsp oil or butter
- 1-2 tbsp bourbon (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oven to 380°.
- Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small saucepan on medium-high heat. Peel and slice the banana into skinny slices (3/8 of an inch, roughly)
- Heat banana slices on one side for 3-minutes without turning over. Gently flip one banana slice to see if it's browning. If it isn't bump up the heat a little bit. Once golden brown, flip and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Mush them a bit with a fork and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, almond flour, salt and powdered sugar.
- In a medium size mixing bowl whip the egg whites for 2-3 minutes on medium high until soft peaks form. You'll know they're done when you can flip the bowl upside down and the whipped egg whites don't budge!
- Fold the egg whites into the flour mixture and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add the melted butter, bourbon, vanilla extract, and bananas to the batter and mix.
- In a financier pan or a muffin pan, grease and sugar or flour the pan. You should have about 6-8 muffins. Pour 2 tablespoons of batter into each mold if using a financier pan. If using a muffin tin, place roughly 3 tablespoons of batter in each muffin space. You should end up with 10 "financiers".
- Top with chopped pecans and bake in oven fo 15-16 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins and cool on cooling rack. These can also be frozen and saved for later!