Matcha Financiers prepared using a recipe from TWG Tea’s executive pastry chef, Philippe Langlois.
TWG Tea‘s matcha financiers are by far my favourite–not because I’ve spent many years working with the brand, but because I adore both matcha and financiers, and have tasted innumerable iterations before returning to TWG Tea’s. I probably first took this recipe for a spin nearly a decade ago, when the luxury tea brand first launched in Singapore. Even back then, their executive pastry chef, Philippe Langlois, had already long established himself as a master of tea gastronomy. I’ve hoarded the Frenchman’s recipe all this while, knowing that whenever I decided to make financiers, this would be my go-to choice.
While Philippe’s matcha financiers recipe is incredibly easy, there must be something in his touch, in the scale of his ingredients, that makes these so darn irresistible. I love how moist they remain even when they’ve sat on the kitchen counter for a couple of days. And the deep, grassy bitterness of matcha is matched with just the right measure of sweetness so that these financiers showcase–rather than mask–the charms of a good powdered green tea. My three-year-old eats two at a go! Frankly, it was her newly-discovered love for green tea that prompted me to revisit this financier recipe.
Matcha financiers fresh out of the oven.
To be honest, TWG Tea’s matcha is so precious that I usually prefer to drink it with my financiers rather than bake with it (I opt for the best matcha I can afford to bake with). However, if your pocket book allows for it, go for it!
Having attempted a wide range of financier recipes over the years, I must point out a few things.
- It’s important to seek out finely ground almond flour. At least, I prefer the elegance of its more refined mouthfeel. Some people prefer the rusticity of coarse, home-ground almond meal. I used to rely exclusively on the super-fine almond flour from Bob’s Red Mill, but am happy to report that Sun Lik Trading also carries a fine-ground almond meal in small bags. My reasonably-priced barquette moulds are also from Sun Lik.
- Avoid overworking the batter.
- Aging the batter for 24 hours really brings the flavours together.
- This batter freezes well! Since financiers taste best freshly baked, storing the batter in the freezer makes it so much easier to whip up a batch on the fly.
I’ve also tweaked the recipe below to yield plain financiers, because my son loves their buttery simplicity (it also helps that CH has given them his thumbs-up, too). What I’m dying to do next is attempt a houjicha version! I hope you enjoy this recipe.
N.B. As I usually make two batches of financiers each time (matcha for the daughter, plain for the son), I always end up with 8 egg yolks. I use these in my homemade ice cream bases.
By adding pureed fruit (raspberry or strawberry) to the vanilla ice cream before it’s churned, you’ll get a fruit flavoured ice cream. And I have been refining a chocolate ice cream recipe for my little girl who is a chocoholic.
Again, I prepare a full portion of ice cream base, but will often just churn half, storing the remainder in a vacuum-sealed bag in the freezer for when we next need to churn another batch.
Fill 2/3 of each mould with financier batter.
Pantry Basics: Financiers Adapted from a recipe shared by TWG Tea’s executive pastry chef, Philippe Langlois. Reproduced with permission from TWG Tea. 140g unsalted butter For Matcha financiers For plain financiers Directions Warm the butter in a pan over a low fire until it turns nut brown (it should smell like hazelnuts). Pass the melted butter through a sieve. Butter financier moulds with some of the browned butter if using metal moulds. Dust with flour and refrigerate. Set remaining butter aside. Combine the ground almonds, caster sugar and 1/3 of the egg whites in a bowl. Whisk to create an even batter. Whisk in the remaining egg whites in two additions (it will start off looking thick and compact, but will gradually thin out with the addition of egg whites). Whisk the all-purpose flour and matcha (if using) in a bowl. Overturn the mixture into the almond batter taking care not to create any lumps. Add vanilla (if using). Whisk the ingredients until they are evenly combined. Incorporate browned butter. At this point, I divide the batter between 2 (or more, depending on the number of financiers you intend to bake each time) disposable piping bags and seal them. Set the batter aside to rest for 24 hours in the fridge. I then freeze the batter if I don’t intend to use it immediately. Simply thaw in the refrigerator before use. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 165 degrees Celsius on convection setting. Fill 2/3 of each financier mould with batter (half the batter yields between 10 to 12 barquettes). Bake for 15 minutes and remove them from the oven. If you are using metal moulds, remove the financiers from the pans immediately. If you are using silicone moulds, let them cool before you unmould them. Financers can be served lightly warmed or cold.
Makes 20-22 barquettes
50g finely ground almonds
150g caster sugar
4 egg whites (from 62g eggs)
50g all-purpose flour
2.5 teaspoons matcha (finely ground green tea leaves)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract or 2 vanilla pods, seeds scraped
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