uniformity // matcha white chocolate financiers

Here is my attempt to bring back the lava cake trend. I kid. Or at least in part.

It was around the final stretch of the cherry season when I decided that I had to pick some of those up and bake with them. I don’t know if I’ve managed to capture just how pretty these are but passing them up was simply not an option. Flavour and colour pairing wise I thought that matcha was a perfect fit, and happily I recalled that there’s a matcha financier recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s Baking Chez Moi book (which use of I’ve really been maximising lately if you’ve noticed). Instagram was a great help in terms of providing decoration inspiration – I saw a couple of pictures where halved raspberries were arranged in tight concentric circles atop a tart and I just knew I had to give that a go, which meant that the financiers had to bake up flat, and of course didn’t happen for the most part, hence only a single financier was decorated the way I wanted to. Hah.

To add on to all the crazy that was already happening with the conception of these, I wanted to revisit the lava cake trend and embed a matcha white chocolate ganache center in the financiers since I could also whip the ganache later on as a topping for the cakes that would secure the cherries in place when they are arranged on top. Since the financiers won’t bake up remotely flat the whipped ganache is really an extra step that is by no means compulsory, although extremely delicious. If you make the whipped ganache you won’t get to have these while they’re warm anyway so if you’re just after that molten center, just half of the quantity of the ganache stated below is more than sufficient. The cherries however, are personally mandatory.

And now, to bake something that would actually be flat enough for me to practice this arrangement technique thing. Bon weekend Xx

Matcha White Chocolate Financiers

makes 5 muffin sized cakes

For the financiers:

85 grams unsalted butter

45 grams all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon matcha powder

pinch of fine sea salt

100 grams sugar

50 grams almond flour

3 large egg whites

For the matcha white chocolate ganache:

125 grams whipping cream

125 grams white chocolate, chopped

1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon matcha powder

pinch of salt

Optional:

cherries to decorate

Make the ganache: Sift the matcha powder into a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil, pour into the bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour in the white chocolate and let the mixture stand for a minute or so, whisk to combine. Stir in the salt. Let the ganache cool to room temperature then refrigerate until firm.

Make the financiers: Melt the butter in a saucepan and set aside.

Whisk the all-purpose flour, matcha and salt together in a small bowl.

Stir the sugar and almond flour together in a large bowl. Gradually add the egg whites, stirring to moisten the dry ingredients. When all the whites are in, give the mix a few vigorous stirs. Stir in the all-purpose flour mixture, mixing only until it’s evenly blended, then start adding the melted butter a little at a time, folding and stirring the batter until all the butter is in. Press a piece of plastic film against the surface of the batter and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Bake the financiers: Preheat oven to 400F. Butter the cups of the muffin tin, dust with flour and tap out the excess.

Fill 5 muffin cups halfway with the batter, spoon about a tablespoon’s worth of the matcha ganache onto the center, then top with more batter, filling the cup almost to the brim.

Bake for 16 to 20 minutes, or until the cakes are browned around the edges and feel springy to touch. Remove from oven and wait for a minute before releasing the cakes from the cups, transfer to a rack and let cool to room temperature if decorating, or just warm if not.

Whip the ganache: With the ganache in a cold, firm state, whip it until it lightens and takes on a spreadable consistency. If it separates, just keep whisking and it’ll come back together.

Transfer to a piping bag and decorate the cooled cakes. Arrange some cherries on top too, if desired. Decorated cakes should be refrigerated if not consumed immediately, but in doing so the matcha white chocolate center won’t remain in a molten state.

Note: financier portion of the recipe adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking Chez Moi, and you’ll need just half of the quantity of matcha ganache stated here if you’re forgoing the whipped ganache topping.