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Financier (cake)

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Financier
financiers
Two rectangular financiers
TypeCake
Place of originFrance
Main ingredientsBeurre noisette; almond flour or ground almonds
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Financier (cake)

A financier (French pronunciation: [fi.nɑ̃.sje], fee-nahn-see-AY) is a small French almond cake, flavoured with beurre noisette, usually baked in a small mold.[1][2] Light and moist with a crisp, eggshell-like exterior,[3][4] the traditional financier also contains egg whites, flour, and powdered sugar. The molds are usually small rectangular loaves similar in size to petits fours.[1][5][3]

History

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The financier originates from the French region of Lorraine. The Visitandine order of nuns in the 17th century produced a small round almond cake called a Visitandine (French pronunciation: [vi.zi.tɑ̃.din]), which is thought to have stemmed from a desire to find a second life for egg whites, whose yolks were used for paintings and illuminated manuscripts.[6] The Visitandine traditionally was different from the financier by the use of butter cooked at a low temperature, as opposed to browned butter. It was in the 19th century that financiers, as we know them today, gained prominence in Paris. The change in shape and name is attributed by Pierre Lacam, in Memorial Historique de la Patisserie, published in 1890, to a pâtissier named Lasne, who worked near the Paris Stock Exchange. Lasne adapted the traditional recipe of the nuns to create a smaller, more practical cake, designed to meet the needs of businessmen who needed a quick, clean snack.[7][8][9]

The name financier is said to derive from the traditional rectangular mold, which resembles a bar of gold when the Swiss reinterpreted the financier and baked it in this form.[2][10] Some French bakeries still sell this cake under the name of visitandine.[11]

According to another tradition, the cake became popular in the financial district of Paris surrounding the Paris stock exchange, as the cake could easily be stored in the pocket for long periods without being damaged.[12][13]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 Thomas Keller et al., Bouchon (NY: Artisan, 2004), 307, available online, accessed August 28, 2012. ISBN 978-1579652395
  2. 1 2 Suas, Michel (2008). Advanced Bread and Pastry. Cengage Learning. p. 474. ISBN 978-1-4180-1169-7.
  3. 1 2 Hesser, Amanda (November 24, 1999). "The Pastry Chef's Rich Little Secret". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Fabricant, Florence (Oct 3, 2006). The New York Times Dessert Cookbook. New York: Macmillan. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-312-34060-5.
  5. ↑ Greenspan, Dorie (2010). Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 455. ISBN 978-0-547-50481-0.
  6. ↑ "La Visitandine, ancêtre sacré du financier". L'est Republican. 23 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "The history of financiers". La Pâtisserie du Monde. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Cecile Delarue (9 January 2015). The Everything Easy French Cookbook: Includes Boeuf Bourguignon, Crepes Suzette, Croque-monsieur Maison, Quiche Lorraine, Mousse Au Chocolat...and Hundreds More!. Everything® Series. Adams Media. p. 248. ISBN 978-1-4405-8396-4.
  9. ↑ "Financier: A Classic French Pastry". The New York Times. 24 November 1999.
  10. ↑ Mina, Michael (2010). Michael Mina: The Cookbook. New York: Hachette Digital, Inc. ISBN 978-0-8212-5753-1.
  11. ↑ nadasto (2012-10-12). "L'histoire et la recette des financiers | GOURMANDISE SANS FRONTIERES" (in French). Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  12. ↑ Leaf, Alexandra (2006). Van Gogh's Table: At the Auberge Ravoux. New York: Artisan Books. p. 209. ISBN 978-1-57965-315-6.
  13. ↑ Hochbaum, Susan (2011). Pastry Paris: In Paris, Everything Looks Like Dessert. New York: New York Review of Books. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-892145-94-9.

Further reading

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  • Gisslen, Wayne. 2008. "Professional Baking", John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey. ISBN 978-0471783497
  • Merceron, Julien. 2014. "A la Mere de Famille: Recipes from the Beloved Parisian Confectioner", Chronicle Books, San Francisco, California. ISBN 978-1452129952
  • The Chefs of Le Cordon Bleu. 2012. "Pâtisserie and Baking Foundations – Classic Recipes", Delmar Cengage Learning, Boston, Massachusetts. ISBN 978-1439057179
  • Valette, Murielle. 2013. "Patisserie: A Step-by-step Guide to Baking French Pastries at Home", Constable & Robinson, London, U.K. ISBN 978-1472110145
  • Wells, Patricia. 1999. "The Food Lover's Guide to Paris", Workman Pub., New York City, New York. ISBN 978-0761114796
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