Roasted Hazelnut Financiers

While classic French financiers are typically made from ground almonds, these Roasted Hazelnut Financiers are made from – you guessed it – roasted hazelnuts, to help provide bolder flavors. This variation on these iconic French bite-sized cakes is a favorite of mine for its perfectly-matched notes of nutty brown butter and rich, toasty hazelnuts. These financiers are quick and easy to make, incredibly delicious and the perfect treats to ease into Fall baking.

Wondering about the origin of French Financiers? Read about it in this Blueberry Almond Financiers recipe. 

With a short ingredient list and easy technique, these roasted hazelnut financiers are quick and easy to prepare. However, they do rely on two key ingredients:

• Roasted hazelnut flour
• Brown butter

These two components are essential in building the delicious nutty, toasted flavor profile of these financiers – and there can be no shortcuts. So, make sure to read through the paragraphs below and follow each step on how to make roasted hazelnut flour and brown butter, before you start making the Roasted Hazelnut Financiers recipe at the end of the article. 

Roasted Hazelnut Flour

These financiers are made with finely ground roasted hazelnuts. Ground hazelnuts are sometimes referred to as hazelnut meal or hazelnut flour. Bags of ground hazelnuts can easily be found in most grocery stores (such as Bob’s Red Mill Hazelnut Flour), however they are often made from raw hazelnuts – not roasted. So if you can’t get your hands on ready-made roasted hazelnut flour, you will need to make it yourself, by roasting hazelnuts and grounding them. 

Using roasted hazelnuts, and not raw, will truly make a difference for these financiers. First, roasting hazelnuts enhances their unique flavor which will make for full-flavored financiers. Secondly, the roasting process removes some of the hazelnut’s moisture. As a result, roasted hazelnuts are crunchier and make for a drier flour. If you use raw hazelnut flour, the texture of the financiers will be “chewier” and they will be noticeably less flavorful. 

That being said, here is how to make roasted hazelnut flour, in a few simple steps.  

How to make roasted hazelnut flour 

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rack in the middle. Line up a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the hazelnuts (100g) over it in an even layer. Bake the hazelnuts for 15 minutes, until skins are blistered. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the hazelnuts cool completely on the baking sheet.
2. Once cool, transfer the hazelnuts, one handful at a time, into a larger sized kitchen cloth. Close the kitchen cloth (like a package) and rub the hazelnuts between your hands for about 1 minute. The friction will help most of the hazelnut skins to fall off. Transfer the “cleaned” hazelnuts to a bowl. Once roasted, hazelnuts can be kept for up to 12 months in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer.
3. Transfer the roasted hazelnuts to a high-speed blender or food processor. Blend on high speed until finely ground. Important: stop when the hazelnuts are just fine enough. If you over-blend, the hazelnut meal will start to stick and eventually turn into hazelnut butter. We need flour, not butter. 

Brown butter (beurre-noisette)

Known in French as “beurre-noisette”, brown butter is the second key ingredient to this recipe. Brown butter is melted butter, with an improved flavor brought on by gently cooking it until it reaches a golden brown color. Used in most financier recipes, “beurre-noisette” gives the delectable nutty flavors that make financiers so unique and irresistible. It’s important you take the time to make brown butter properly for this recipe – do not skip this step… you won’t regret it!

How to make brown-butter (beurre-noisette)

1. In a small sauce-pan, melt your butter over medium-low heat, whisking frequently. Once all melted, the butter will start to simmer and foam. This should take 3-4 minutes. 
2. Eventually the butter will stop foaming. Keep a close eye on it and watch for golden specks to form at the bottom of the pan. Smell the butter for nutty aromas. This should take about 4-5 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and pour the butter into a cold bowl to stop the cooking process. Set aside and cool to room temperature.

*** Be careful, as it’s easy to go from brown-butter to burnt-butter. If you think you’ve over-cooked or burned the butter, do not overthink it. Dump it and start again. Burnt butter is terrible for your health and tastes just as bad.

More cooking notes: 

• Separate your eggs (whites/yolks) about 30 minutes before you start, to allow the whites to warm up to room temperature. With the 4 leftover egg yolks, you could make Classic French Chocolate Pots de Crème. 
• Don’t skip on sifting together the icing sugar, hazelnut flour and all-purpose flour. It will truly make a difference in creating lighter and airier financiers. This will also ensure these ingredients are lump-free. 
• To make it more approachable for my North American readers, the recipe is made for classic muffin tins/cupcake pans, which are widely available. If you can get your hands on an authentic financier mold pan, the financiers will need to bake a few minutes less.

I hope you’ll love this Roasted Hazelnut Financiers recipe as much as I do! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. 

You may also like:

• Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt 
• French Walnut & Coffee Cake
• Chocolate Chip Cookies with Fleur de Sel
• Brownies with Pecans & Fleur de Sel
• Homemade Hazelnut Chocolate Spread 
• Hazelnut Chocolate Sea Salt Granola

Roasted Hazelnut Financiers

Print Recipe

Serves: 8-9 Financiers Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes 20 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 5 voted )

Ingredients

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp (105g) unsalted butter, made into brown-butter.
3/4 cup (90g) roasted hazelnut flour
1/2 cup (62.5g) all-purpose flour
1 cup + 2 tbsp (145g) icing sugar
¼ tsp salt
4 egg whites (½ cup [125 g]), at room temperature
½ tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F (180°C) with a rack in the middle. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with butter and dust with flour (you will likely only use 8-9 cups).

Step 1 - Make the brown-butter (“beurre-noisette”) (see instructions above) and set aside to let it cool slightly.

Step 2 - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ground roasted hazelnuts, icing sugar, flour and salt.

Step 3 – Whisk in the 4 egg whites and the vanilla extract. The batter will be fairly thick.

Step 4 – Switch to a spatula, and fold in the brown butter. Stop folding when just incorporated.

Step 5 – Transfer the batter into the muffin pan – fill the cups up 2/3 of the way. You should have enough batter for 8 to 9 "cups". Bake for 20-22 minutes, until financiers have a dome and a toothpick inserted in the middle of one comes out clean.

Transfer onto a cooling rack, cool for 5 minutes and remove financiers from the pan.

How to store & keep Financiers?

• Financiers can be kept in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 2-3 days.
• For freezing financiers, let them cool completely to room temperature and transfer them into a freezer-friendly airtight container. Let them thaw at room temperature in the airtight container – not outside of the container, or they will dry up.