Name: Almond Cakes
Yield: Makes 21 2 x 4-inch (5 x 10-cm) financiers
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons (30 g) unsalted butter, melted, for buttering 21 financier molds; 1 cup (140 g) finely ground almonds; 1 2/3 cups (210 g) confectioners sugar; 1/2 cup (70g) unbleached all-purpose flour; Pinch of salt; 3/4 cup (185 g) egg whites (5 to 6); 3/4 cup (6 ounces; 185 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

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(FINANCIERS)

The little rectangular almond cakes known as financiers are sold in many of the best pastry shops in Paris. Perfect financiers are about as addictive as chocolate, and I'd walk a mile or two for a good one. The finest have a firm, crusty exterior and a moist, almondy interior, tasting almost as if they were filled with almond paste. Next to the madeleine, the financier is probably the most popular little French cake, common street food for morning or afternoon snacking. The cake's name probably comes from the fact that a financier resembles a solid gold brick. Curiously, as popular as they are, financiers seldom appear in recipe books or in French literature.

The secret to a good financier is in the baking: For a good crust, they must begin baking in a very hot oven. Then the temperature is reduced to keep the interior moist. Placing the molds on a thick baking sheet while they are in the oven is an important baking hint from the Left Bank pastry chef Jean-Luc Poujauran, who worked for months to perfect his financiers, which are among the best in Paris. The special tin financier molds, each measuring 2 x 4-inches (5 x 10-cm), can be found at restaurant supply shops. Small oval barquette molds or even muffin tins could also be used.

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