Light Raspberry Financiers

📝 Ingredients

• 4 egg whites (about 130 g)
• 100 g caster sugar
• 80 g ground almonds
• 60 g plain flour + ½ tsp baking powder
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 50 g unsweetened apple purée
• 150 g frozen raspberries
• 1 pinch of salt

🍴 Utensils

• 16-hole silicone mould (financier or mini muffin)
• Small saucepan
• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Bowl
• Wire rack

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C (170 °C fan). The silicone mould doesn't need greasing. Leave the raspberries in the freezer until the last moment: when frozen hard, they don't fall apart or colour the batter.
2. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, then let it cook for 3 to 4 min, stirring gently: it foams, then turns golden with a nutty smell and small brown specks at the bottom. Pour it straight into a bowl to stop the cooking and leave to cool slightly.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, breaking up any lumps of ground almond.
4. Add the egg whites without beating them first and whisk for 1 min, just until the batter is smooth: whatever you do, don't whisk them to peaks; leaving them unwhipped is what gives financiers their dense, moist texture.
5. Stir in the apple purée, then pour in the warm brown butter in a thin stream, brown specks included as they carry the flavour, whisking until the batter is smooth and glossy.
6. Divide the batter between the 16 holes, filling them three-quarters full, about 30 g or a heaped tablespoon each. Half-press 2 or 3 frozen raspberries into each financier, without pushing them to the bottom.
7. Bake for 15 to 18 min, until the edges are nicely golden and the centre springs back when pressed with a finger. A knife inserted next to a raspberry should come out clean.
8. Leave to cool for 10 min in the mould before carefully turning out, then leave to cool on a wire rack. Allow 2 financiers per portion. They're even better the next day, kept in an airtight container.