Gluten-Free Chocolate Financiers with Agave Nectar
Everyone! Tonight I experienced a minor triumph in the kitchen. To be quite frank, I’m more than a little giddy about it.
I’m not, as they say, the most orderly and organized of people. I don’t always read instruction manuals and if there’s a guided tour, forget it. Snooze city. Chances are I’ve ducked out after the second sentence and am off admiring some piece of art in a room that’s – oops! – not part of the admission you purchased, miss.
But when it comes to baking, and to a lesser degree cooking, I have always been by-the-book. To a fault. Scouring stores to find exact ingredients, worrying over whether the tester had a single crumb, begging friends to help me buy a KitchenAid standing mixer so I could get my egg whites whipped just right, pining over scales I still can’t afford so I could get more precise measurements. So right, a total joy in the kitchen. We all know baking is precise and exact, but come on.
I’ve been cooking and baking for most of my life. When I was 11 I got sick of not being able to buy char siu bao in our little mountain town and decided to try and make them, an endeavor that took me two days because I insisted on making not only the dough and the buns, but also the barbecue sauce and thus the pork. I’ve been doing this for a while now. At some point, it was time for me to let go of the proverbial apron strings and start baking outside the recipe box for once.
Lately, you may have noticed me tossing ingredients and measurements in and out almost willy-nilly. I mean, how nonchalantly did I mention fussing around with that tuna salad recipe? OK, fine, tuna salad is sort of different from, you know, a cake, but work with me here. An uptight girl’s gotta start somewhere!
Changing things around in a recipe for a baked good though? Hold up there, turbo. Are you sure you’re ready for that?
No. But guess what. It worked!
The other week, during Shauna of Gluten-Free Girl’s virtual book tour, I discovered her recipe for gluten-free chocolate financiers on Smitten Kitchen. I got so excited at the idea of those little almondy chocolatey nuggets of joy that I ran out and used the last of my Sur La Table gift card to get mini muffin tins. I had almond meal in my freezer already, since my mom taught me how to use it sometimes for a cheesecake crust (I’d give that entire recipe to you, but I think that would be the last post I’d ever make, if you get my drift). One-two-three, those financiers came together, easy as anything. And oh boy.
Suffice to say I made them again within a week. Even better? A certain someone who rarely eats sweets stole extra ones when he stopped by to say hello – leaving me wondering as to his real motive for stopping by – and then indirectly requested more. You know, one of those, “Oh, um, hey, any more of those chocolate financiers around?”
As amazing as they are – and don’t take my word for it, make them – I got to thinking about how I felt after I ate sugar. Which was not in the “great” category. One little financier (or two, because they’re little right? so you kind of have to eat two? or three?) wasn’t so bad, what with the powdered sugar being balanced out by the almond meal – the fat slowing the absorption of sugar and keeping things relatively mellow. But I still wondered how I’d feel if I reduced the sugar, or replaced it with something like agave nectar.
For those who are new to agave nectar (and I’d never even bought it before today), it is just what you think – the nectar of the agave plant, which also gives us tequila. It’s a natural sweetener that has a lower glycemic index than most other sweeteners out there. Sure, a sweetener is a sweetener, and if you’re trying to stay away from sugar altogether, it’s not going to do you any good. But if you’re trying to stay away from sugar completely, then what are you doing reading about chocolate financiers in the first place? You’ll drive yourself insane, honey.
I decided to try remaking Shauna’s recipe using agave nectar, to see what would happen. I hope she doesn’t mind – her recipe is wonderful, I just wanted to find a way to enjoy it even more given my fussy tummy. So I substituted. And lo, a miracle occurred. I changed a baked goods recipe, and it turned out great. The little financiers baked up just right, maybe cracking a bit more on the top than before but still staying moist and like a slightly fudgy cake on the inside. The crumb was tender but retained plenty of body. The chocolate richness came through loud and clear, the sweetness balanced the cocoa and the espresso, and that familiar almond undertone was rounded out nicely by the agave.
I confess: I can’t take all the credit. When I was on my solo date on Saturday, I talked to my friend Jenny, the chef and owner of 118 Degrees. She cooks and bakes with agave nectar a lot, so I took advantage of her expertise and asked for her advice. Brilliant woman, that one.
So now I’m excited to try using agave in all sorts of recipes. I don’t think I’ll replace the sugar in every recipe – I know I’m branching out here, but let’s not go too crazy. I don’t know that the old-fashioned baking stickler in me could handle changing certain standards. Others I’d like to make first the original way, to get familiar with the consistency of the batter, so I know how to accommodate for the extra liquid of the agave. And with other recipes, like those for larger cakes, I’ll have to test how the agave changes the overall consistency and appearance. For instance, I have two different recipes that create what are technically larger versions (with icing!) of these financiers, in an old Maida Heatter cookbook and in a recent Splendid Table e-mail. The agave worked well with these itty bitty bite-sized chocolate wonders, but I’m not sure how it would work on a larger scale with only almond meal. I’m dying to try those recipes as is, anyway, and then report back (see how willing I am to suffer for you guys?).
Nevertheless, I highly recommend you try these financiers, either in their original incarnation or with the agave nectar. Just so you know, I drove them over for quick quality assurance to that certain someone, who pronounced them as good as the last batch, even though he had to keep sampling them before he was able to say that with certainty. I don’t blame him. One must be precise, musn’t one?
Gluten-Free Chocolate Financiers
Adapted from Gluten-Free Girl
Notes from Leah on baking with agave:
1) Agave nectar is liquid, so the amount of almond meal is increased slightly from the original version to compensate for this. The batter will be slightly looser than the original, and you will end up with more cookies (darn).
2) The oven temperature has been lowered by 25 degrees F to compensate for the fact that agave nectar tends to evaporate and burn a little more quickly than sugar.
3) If you use agave nectar, definitely make sure to use Dutch-process cocoa.
4) I add espresso powder or instant coffee to nearly every chocolate recipe; I highly recommend it but feel free to make this optional.
5) If possible, use a wider and more shallow mold or mini muffin tin. I used the taller one (the more “mini cupcake” one) I have, because of the number of financiers this recipe produces, and I think this recipe would do better with the other.
6) Do not overfill your tins (like I did) and do not overbake! You may have a slight crust on the top of your financiers due to the evaporative quality (see #2) if you bake a minute or two too long, but it will be basically unnoticeable (and some people like a little crust).
Makes 20-22 one-inch cookies
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup almond flour (or almond meal)*
4 tablespoons Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon light agave nectar
1 tablespoon lukewarm water
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional)
1/3 cup egg whites (approx. two large)
ΒΌ teaspoon almond extract
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease financier molds or mini-muffin tins. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and set it aside until it reaches room temperature.
2. Mix the almond flour with the cocoa powder, salt, espresso powder, agave nectar, and water. Stir the egg whites and almond extract into the almond mixture, then gradually stir in the melted butter until incorporated and smooth. Spoon the batter into the molds, filling them three-quarters full. Do not overfill.
3. Bake the financiers for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cookies are slightly puffed and springy to the touch. Do not overbake. Remove them from the oven and let cool completely before removing the financiers from the molds.
4. Once cooled, financiers can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
*(Available at health food stores and at Trader Joe’s. If you can’t find it, you can grind blanched almonds in your food processor.)
**Thank you to that certain someone for lending me his camera! More financiers coming his way…
November 13th, 2007 06:26
LOVE this!!! Agave nectar is the best! I just made some brownies with them last night and I am gluten-free. Thank you for sharing this recipe! I enjoyed seeing it also in Shauna’s book! I just discovered your site! Great post!! Those are some beautiful financiers by the way!!
November 13th, 2007 09:02
Hi Carrie! Thank you so, so much. I checked out your site and those brownies look fantastic. If you make these financiers with the agave, let me know how they turn out. I’m glad you found your way here!
November 13th, 2007 10:23
1) these look DELISH.
2) Nice redecoration in here, miss thing! The room looks positively fa-boo. =D
November 13th, 2007 18:16
They look very good–and like you, I find that the more you do the thing the OCD way, the better able to wing it you are.
November 15th, 2007 07:09
These look fabulous. I am gluten-free too, and I love the combination of chocolate and almond flour. I like your use of agave, too! I might spike these with cinnamon too
I only have a regular 12-cup muffin tin – do you think it’s better to make two batches and only fill the cups halfway or else make this in a 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan and then just cut them apart like brownies? Thanks for the advice!
November 16th, 2007 00:02
AL – Thank you my dear – I’m so glad you approve on all accounts! =)
Michelle – See, I totally agree. I have about a million theories (shocker), and one of them is that you can’t successfully break the rules until you have mastered them, or at least have a pretty solid working knowledge of them. The very few people who can do so are anomalies, and they probably know more than they let on! So yay for OD bakers. xo
M – Thank you! You should also thank Shauna over at Gluten-Free Girl, since the recipe is hers, from her book – I just modified them with the agave. I bet they’d be good with the cinnamon; you’ll have to let me know.
I think if you are going to use the agave, I’d try using your muffin tin first. You could do the baking pan, but I’m too unfamiliar with agave nectar yet to know what the consistency would be like or whether the top would dry out too much. Plus, the small, two-bite sized financiers are so much fun! Depending on how large your muffin pan is (the capacity of the cups) (oh the double entendres we are treading on here), I would fill them about 1/3 to slightly less than 1/2 full. Maybe try a small batch in the muffin tins and see how they bake up, checking them at 10 minutes and again at 13 or 14. Then you can adjust the amount accordingly, and not have used all the batter. Let me know what happens!
January 25th, 2008 17:43
You should try out the Ultiamate raw foods Raw Clear agave.. there is nothing like it… http://www.organiclivingfood.com/pc-159-12-agave-nectar-real-blue-clear-organic-raw-ultimate-raw-foods.aspx
February 5th, 2008 16:04
The financiers were my first experiment with agave nectar and I am in love. I can’t eat wheat or sugar and these truly hit the spot. I brought them to work and shared them with my bosses, both of which can’t eat flour or sugar and they loved them too! Even my coworker who eats “normal” food liked them. My boss called later in the day specifically to tell me (again) how much she liked my little cupcakes (she scarfed 3 and then ran to a meeting). Thank you for making everyone in my office happy with your agave nectar modification =)
I used regular muffin tins, and they came out fine, though perhaps a bit dry the next day. Tonight I am going to try putting in zucchini…. I’ll let you know how that turns out.
March 19th, 2008 14:46
the zucchini worked great- unfortunately i didn’t measure so i can’t say how much to use…. (i just threw a few spoonfuls of puree into part of the batter so i wouldn’t ruin the whole thing if it came out awful)
April 6th, 2008 19:12
so when you first told me about these things, i was like, what the hell is a financier? i deduced from the picture that “financier” is a fancy word for “cupcake with no frosting” or possibly “muffin”. upon going to whole foods to purchase almond meal and agave, i said to myself, aha! these are called “financiers” because a little bag of almond meal is $9.99 and a little bottle of agave is $4.99. while “financier” is an appropriate term for these babies, i’d submit that “millionaire muffins” or “capital gains cookies” are also excellent possibilities. in any case, i decided to forgo the ten dollar almond flour but bought the agave syrup. because i’m vegan, i used NRG egg rplacer and soy margerine. i also took the liberty of adding molasses because i was afraid they’d be dry and hard without the egg whties. i made them into little cookies instead of little muffins, and they turned out great!
June 12th, 2008 17:52
i made the original recipe first (with sugar and not agave) and… it was better. much better. i still enjoy these, and i feel less guilty eating them, but my boyfriend who doesn’t feel guilty eating anything, will not love them and he will complain that they’re not the same. they’re not sweet enough. maybe i’ll modify the recipe further next time to still use agave, but just with a lot more!
that said, i’m still really glad for this recipe because i just ate one and want another right now. they’re still very good, they’re just not mind blowingly phenomenal like the batch i made last weekend. i know my mom and sister and girlfriends will like these, but my boyfriend and his sweet tooth… just not going to happen!! these taste too healthy for him to be fooled.
July 9th, 2008 07:01
[...] Try Gluten-Free Girl’s Chocolate Financier Recipe, brought to you by Smitten Kitten. Or, an agave-nectar sweetened version of the recipe An adorable Gluten-Free Apricot Financier Recipe Or a gluten-free adaption of a [...]
February 14th, 2009 09:30
Leah, thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this recipe! I was Dx with Type 2 Diabetes in November. For a chocolaholic, this has been a very difficult three months. Both cane sugar and wheat flour spike my blood sugar so your version of Gluten-Girl’s recipe was heaven sent. I made a batch last Saturday, ate two and tested my blood 1, 2 and 3 hours after consuming them –no blood sugar spikes! Then I brought them to a party the next day and all the guests loved them! (Due to friends’ preferences I omitted the expresso power and used vanilla instead of almond extract)
I have a question though. I used non-Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa power; why do you recommend Dutch processed?
Tonight I’m going to make a batch and eat two topped with raspberries and agave sweetened whipped cream.
March 30th, 2009 10:49
I found this site/recipe after seeing on Kitchn.com a blurb about dried cactus honey–or flaked agave. I do not eat sugar either, so I was curious. I had everything on hand, given I am a blue agave true believer and have celiac’s. They are still cooling, but some how at least 8 have levitated out of the pan. Hmmm…how could that be? The recipe clearly states that one should wait until they are completely cooled. Bad Jacqueline! Bad Boyfriend! We just could not help ourselves. I guess you could sum it up this way: LOVE THEM! Thanks for the agave hack…perfection.
September 6th, 2009 15:43
Erin- Try adding a pinch of stevia to increase the sweetness
December 16th, 2009 05:13
Has anyone every made a chocolate pie using agave nectar to sweeten. It does not have to be vegan
April 5th, 2010 22:39
Leah, thank you so much for your creative experimentation in the kitchen and for posting this version with agave syrup! My 5 y/o daughter was diagnosed with a number of food intolerances last week, meaning we had to go gluten and sugar free, and in the lead-up to Easter, I stuggled to get the basic ingredients for savoury dishes, let alone sweet snacks she will actually want to eat. Additionally, some of the online recipes I’ve been browsing through call for ingredients which I’m not familiar with and are hard for me to source quickly here in Australia, unless I order online.
A chance discussion at the hairdresser this morning resulted in a comment about agave syrup, and after a quick call home, her daughter turned up at the salon with their bottle for us to take home and try. Thankfully I found your site and recipe soon after we got home, and my daughter and I have just cooked up a batch of happiness, which was much appreciated by both of us! She is delighted to get to enjoy some chocolate love while other kids polish off their Easter eggs. She even wants the recipes for her own kids one day, as she claims these are her most favourite chocolate cakes ever! I’m quite fond of them split in half, with a dab of berry fruit puree spread! We’ll be making these forever! Thanks again X