I’ve fallen in love with chai, ever since I had a delicious masala chai in one of my favourite Indian restaurants. This wasn’t always the case though, my first experience of chai was a chai latte at a well-known coffee chain. It was vile, so sweet it set my teeth on edge and I think it must have been made with double cream.
The chai latte made me a bit hesitant of chai, but I have used it in baking before in these masala chai macarons. Last time I baked with chai, I made my own infusion with the whole spices, this was great, but quite time consuming. Just before Christmas, Holy Lama Spice Drops sent me some of their tea masala drops to try.
I really like Holy Lama Spice Drops and I swear by their rose extract, it’s so concentrated you don’t need very much and it is so easy to store. They make a huge range of extracts, I get mine from Ocado, but they do also have an online store.
These financiers are so light and their small size means they won’t ruin any good intentions or diets you may be on. These are also a great way to use up egg whites as well as any nuts you might have lying around. So do customise these anyway you like.
The most important part of financiers is a beurre noisette, this brown butter tastes so delicious and it adds an extra nutty layer to the finished cakes. Don’t be afraid of making it, it’s easy and tastes really great. I know the thought of heating butter till it basically almost burns feels wrong, but it’s used in so much French cookery and as the video I’ve linked to shows, it’s very simple.
To make the financiers I’ve included the recipe below, I used three 16 hole silicone financier moulds, but you could make these in 12 muffin tins, just fill them two thirds full and you may need to cook them for longer. A cocktail stick will come out clean when they’re done.
Chai Hazelnut Financiers
Ingredients
- 225 g Usalted Butter
- 75 g Plain Flour
- 150 g Ground Almonds
- 225 g Egg Whites approx 7-8 eggs
- 255 g Caster Sugar
- <a href="http://www.holylamaspicedrops.com/product/tea-masala/">5 drops of Masala Tea drops</a>
- 20 g Hazelnuts chopped
- Icing sugar to dust
Instructions
- Put the butter in a pan and heat until you have a beurre noisette. Take off the heat and leave to cool.
- sift the flour into a bowl and then add the ground almonds and mix well.
- Put the egg whites and sugar into a large bowl and whisk gently until fully combined, do not whisk too much, you don't want it to be aerated.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the egg white and sugar mix, then mix in the cooled beurre noisette, mix until fully combined. Put the batter into an airtight container and place it in the fridge for an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 170C, take the financier batter out of the fridge, it with have really thickened. Fill your moulds until they are three-quarters full, top with the chopped hazelnuts and bake for 15 minutes or until a light golden colour.
- Leave to cool and then remove from the moulds and dust with icing sugar
Thanks for reading.
Angela
- I was sent a free Tea Masala Holy Lama Spice Drop, but the views are entirely my own and I buy their products regularly and feature them in my recipes.
Mariana @ The Candid Kitchen
I am very obsessed with chai too, I have been adding it to everything! And can I just say these are the dainty-est financiers ever!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you so much – I love chai and these little financier moulds are just the cutest little things.
Our Food Stories
ohh we love chai in cakes / baked stuff so much!! and these look very delicious <3
PatisserieMakesPerfect
It so good isn’t it? Thank you so much for the lovely comment, these are lovely little treats. x
Jodie Dodd
I’m not a huge fan of chai either, but I’ve only tried chai tea, never anything baked. These financiers are just so cute. 😀 x
PatisserieMakesPerfect
It’s really great when it’s baked with Jodie – I much prefer it this way. Thanks so much for your lovely comments. x
Pang
These financiers are gorgeous, Angela. I don’t using drink chai, but I like it in baked goods. So now you know how excited I am with this recipe. 🙂
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you Pang! These really are gorgeous little cakes. I don’t drink a lot of chai but I love it in baked goods!
Ranjani Raj
perfect recipe with drool worthy captures.. its perfect with tea or coffee…
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thank you so much Ranjani – these are such lovely little cake to make and devour!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Don’t bother with one Louise (in my opinion) they’re so sickly. Enjoy the spice drops – I’ll be you’ll struggle to buy just one pack. x
Valerie
Really nice recipe, I love chai spices ! I love the S… chai tea latte but I’d like to try to make my own spice mix. I’ll check your macaron recipe.
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Thanks Valerie, I’m wondering if I just had a bad S Chai tea latte as it really didn’t taste good.
I’m glad you like the recipe and do take a look at the macarons! x
nicole (thespicetrain.com)
I totally hear you, nothing ruins a chai latte more than too much sweetness, I can’t stand that either and I always make mine with just honey. Love these little financiers – gorgeous, delicious and soo cute!
PatisserieMakesPerfect
That sounds delicious Nicole – I’ve never tried making my own. Thank you for such lovely comments, I’m glad you like the look of these, it means a lot from you.
Hannah Hossack-Lodge
To my shame I do quite like the high street chai lattes….they aren’t as nice as the proper stuff though. The spice drops sound really interesting, certainly much easier than having to make the spice mix and I imagine they work really well in the financiers, which look beautiful by the way x
PatisserieMakesPerfect
Maybe I just had a bad one Hannah? The drops are really, really good they take up hardly any room as well and when you have a kitchen as small as mine that’s a real bonus. I’m so pleased you like them! x