If you’ve never heard of financiers, they are small French cakes made out of almond flour. They are chewy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and bursting with flavour! Usually they are round or rectangular-shaped, but since I love donuts, I decided to try some sour cherry and chocolate financier donuts.
What I love the most about financiers is that they are not overly sweet. Their chewiness is imparted by the almond flour as opposed to sugar (which is what makes brownies chewy). Almond flour is a great source of calcium, protein, vitamin E, as well as minerals such as magnesium, copper, iron and more.
If you are the kind of person who likes to have a donut for breakfast, these financier donuts are so much healthier than any other alternatives out there. Additionally, they make the perfect, most indulgent afternoon snack at work, at home, or on the go! They’re slightly sweet, sour, and a little bit chocolatey. Is there a snack more perfect than this?
Before making the batter, you will need to poach some sour cherries. Sour cherries are a staple in Eastern European cuisine. You can find anything from beverages, sweet dumplings, cakes, pies, and more. If you don’t have fresh sour cherries where you live, you can use frozen, or even canned. However, if you use canned, make sure they do not contain added sugar.
I made these little guys in a 12 x 8 in non-stick donut pan, however you could also use a silicone mold. You could also make it as a loaf or a cake, just be aware the baking time will vary. You will know it is ready when you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.
See more donut recipes here.
And finally, here you have the recipe for the sour cherry and chocolate financier donuts:
Sour Cherry and Chocolate Financier Donuts
Ingredients
For the poached sour cherries:
- 40 sour cherries, pitted
- ½ cup (100 g/ 3 ½ oz.) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60 ml/ 2 oz.) water
For the batter:
- 3 large egg whites at room temperature
- ¼ cup (40 g/ 1 ½ oz.) all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (80 g/ 3 oz.) almond flour
- ½ cup (100 g/ 3 ½ oz.) granulated sugar
- 1 stick (115 g/ 4 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 30 g (1 oz.) bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter at room temperature for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180 °C (350°F).
Poaching the sour cherries:
- Place the cherries, granulated sugar and water in a small pot over low heat. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring with a spatula to dissolve the sugar. Take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature. Drain the cherries and collect the juice to use it later as a glaze.
Browning the butter:
- Slice the butter, place it in a sauce pan and let it melt over low-medium heat. Continue cooking until the butter becomes golden brown. The butter should have a nutty aroma. Pour it into a cold bowl and let it cool at room temperature.
For the batter:
- In a bowl sift the all-purpose flour, add the sugar, almond flour, salt, and mix them. Add the chocolate and mix. Add the egg whites and whisk until you get a smooth mixture. Add the brown butter slowly while whisking continuously.
- Grease the donut pan. Place 3-4 poached sour cherries on the bottom of each cavity of the donut pan. Pour the batter into a piping bag and pipe it into the pan filling ¾ of each cavity. Bake for 10 minutes, or until donuts spring back when gently pressed.
- Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and let it sit at room temperature 5 minutes. Then transfer the donuts to a cooling rack.
- Optional: use the remaining juice from poaching as a light syrup to drizzle over the donuts when serving them.
