Halloween brown butter plum financiers are a delicious treat that combines the rich flavour of brown butter and the fruitiness of plums. They are small, tender, dipped in a dark chocolate glaze and decorated with a date and some more chocolate.
Financiers are gold. They are quite different from other baked goods as they require brown butter. Also, they are often flavoured with almonds, hazelnuts or other nuts, but they can also be adapted to incorporate flavours such as lemon, chocolate, rum or pumpkin spice.
The batter comes together very fast and it is very easy to pair with many spices and aromas. Financiers are perfect for cakes, small cakes, cupcakes or tarts.
Brown butter
What makes financiers so delicious is the brown butter. Brown butter is simply clarified butter that has been cooked for a long time until it takes on a nutty flavour. You need to observe the colour and listen to the sound of butter during this process. Once the butter is browned, remove it straight away from the heat. You can either cool it down in a cold water bath or transfer it into another bowl. This will stop the butter from browning further and eventually burning.
Another important thing about brown butter is that a good amount of butter or milk solids will evaporate. That means you’ll end up with 20-25% less butter at the end of the process. Always start with 20% more butter than you need.
I decided to turn the financiers into a Halloween treat. To do that, I added the right spooky decoration: sweet cockroaches. Creating this decoration is easy, and quick and the result is awesome. It is beautiful, spooky and gross at the same time. Use a halved dried date as the cockroach body and chocolate to create the legs, head and antennae. Just perfect for Halloween parties.
Honey and plums
Moreover, I wanted the financiers to be moist, sweet and fruity. Therefore, I used honey. The natural sugars in honey help to retain moisture in baked goods. This can prevent the financiers from becoming dry and crumbly.
For the fruity note, I made a plum compote, but you can use a lemon or mandarine curd as well. Plums are in season and I love that sweet flavour. Plum compotes are insanely fruity and sweet and they come in a deep purple-red colour. I also enhanced it with some cherry liqueur and clementine zest. If, on one hand, the compote can add moisture, on the other hand, it can also extend the baking time.
To ensure your financiers are fully baked, check them until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
In case you have too many financiers, store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or up to one week in the fridge.
Additionally, if you are interested in some more fun Halloween recipes, check these out: the mummies, colourful deviled eggs, the scary cherry ginger eye pie, a Halloween pizza of the dead or these strawberry monster cupcakes.
Ingredients for about 24 (bitesize) Halloween brown butter plum financiers:
- 120 g brown butter (room temperature), start with 150 g of butter
- 15 g honey
- 4 g clementine zest
- 160 g egg whites (room temperature)
- 2 g tonka bean paste
- 2 g salt
- 85 g almond flour
- 150 g icing sugar
- 25 g corn starch
- 12 dates
- 100 g dark chocolate
Plum compote:
- 8 large plums
- 2 clementines (juice, zest)
- 15 g brown sugar
- 50 ml cherry liqueur
- 6 g cornstarch
Dark chocolate glaze:
- 75 g dark chocolate
- 15 ml of olive oil
- 30 g chopped almonds
To begin, cook the plum compote. Wash and pit the plums. Cut them into chunks and add to a saucepan. Then, add brown sugar, clementine juice and cherry liqueur. Bring to a simmer and cook until soft. Using an immersion blender, puree the plums and put them back on the stove. Stir in the corn starch and the clementine zest. Cook until thickened.
Transfer the plum compote into a bowl with a flat bottom to cool down.
Making brown butter
Next, make the brown butter. Using a smaller pot or saucepan melt the butter on medium heat. You’ll notice bubbles and hear sizzling and crackling sounds. After these sounds subside and you smell the lovely nutty aroma, remove the pot from the heat and place it immediately in a bowl with cold water.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Add icing sugar, almond flour and ground hazelnuts to the food processor and pulse for 30 seconds.
Then, mix honey, tonka bean paste, egg whites and clementine zest, in a larger bowl. Once the mixture looks well mixed, sift in the dry ingredients (almond flour, starch, icing sugar and hazelnuts). Add the brown butter (around 40°C) and transfer to a piping bag,
Fill the cups up to 90% with the batter and squeeze a bit of plum compote in the middle of each mould. Use a toothpick to swirl it into the batter. Push them in the oven, reduce the heat to 180°C and bake for 10 minutes. Then, lower the baking tray to the lower rack and bake until baked through (another 10 min). Do a check with a toothpick.
After the Halloween brown butter plum financiers are ready, remove them from the oven and let them cool down for a couple of minutes. Then, take them out of the mould and place them on a wire rack to cool down completely.
Afterwards, chill them in the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Dark chocolate glaze
In the meantime, prepare the chocolate glaze. Combine chocolate and olive oil in a heat-proof bowl and melt over a water bath. Once melted, remove from the heat, stir and cool down to 40°C. At this point, stir in the chopped almonds.
After the glaze reaches 35 °C, you can start dipping the financiers. Dip the bottom part of each financier into the glaze and place it nicely on a silicone mat. Allow to set before moving them to the fridge.
Finally, decorate the Halloween brown butter plum financiers with a small amount of plum compote and place half a date on top. To create cockroach legs, heads and antennae, put a spoon of tempered dark chocolate in a small piping bag and pipe it on the financiers.
Enjoy.
