Recipe: Blueberry Financiers

We love these simple and delicious French tea cakes.  They're an easy, elegant pastry to have in the house for snacking and entertaining at brunch, in the afternoon, or as part of a dessert.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients: 

1.5 sticks of butter
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, plus additional for dusting
6 egg whites

2 tablespoons of honey
1 cup of frozen blueberries

 

Special item: 24 muffin cup liners (square or round), placed on baking sheets

 

- In a saucepan or cast iron over medium heat, melt the butter.  Stir it occasionally to mix in the brown bits that form, and let it simmer until it becomes light brown all the way through - about 5-7 minutes.  Remove butter from heat and allow to cool slightly.

- Grind the almonds in a food processor 

- Mix the ground almonds in with the flour and sugar, then add egg whites and honey, folding in completely

- Add brown butter to the batter, combining well

- Divide the batter equally between the 24 cups

- Drop the blueberries on top of the batter, distributing evenly

- Put the baking sheets with the filled cups into the hot oven, and bake for 15-17 minutes - cakes should be slightly golden and just cooked through.

- Let cool slightly, and sprinkle powdered sugar over the cakes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.