Before I start in on ice cream & financiers & such, I just wanna say that Jay is home from Switzerland! In case you didn’t know, Mr. Rockstar was over there playing a music festival in Muotathal. He’s safe & sound back in New York now. It’s nice to have him back in the same time zone as me, let alone the same breathing space. It was really weird to imagine he was somewhere 6 hours ahead of me. But anyway, I got my Swiss chocolates, and plenty of them. I shall be gorging myself on these for a few days, or at least a couple more hours. The first one there, the Cailler of Switzerland Lait & Caramel Pointe de sel? I can’t wait to hang my fangs on that one. The Lindt assortment is pretty amazing, though, in and of itself. I haven’t opened the Camille Bloch Torino one yet, but I’m intrigued to try it; it’s a ‘chocolat au lait suisse fin fourre creme de noisettes et d’amandes’ or, as it’s said in English, fine milk chocolate filled with a creme of hazelnuts & almonds. Mmm.
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So speaking of Europe & European confections, last month, the people at Donsuemor contacted me and asked me if I’d come up with a recipe featuring one of their delicious French cookies for their Dessert a Day project. Being a little bit of a francophile (although also an anglophile, and pretty much someone who’s enthusiastic about everything in general, especially desserts), I immediately jumped at the chance. I chose the French almond cakes, or financiers & I could not wait to get my hands on them. For a non-French company that’s fairly new (started in 1976), the selection of items & the implied quality impressed me. So I really was excited to make something with these little cakes… oh, and eat some too.
And then… they arrived! Pretty quick, actually. Oh, happy day!
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Sacré bleu! I’d been brainstorming all kinds of recipes for these guys. Ah, little did they know when I first opened that box what their ultimate fate would be. Mes petits financiers, mes pauvres. Groped at by greedy hands was the least of it.
French Almond Cakes, or <financiers>, as they are known in France, are elegant little cakes with the rich and nutty taste of sweet almond. Soft and moist with crisp edges – a “Donsuemor signature” – these elegant treats are made with the finest quality, all natural ingredients.
Led by the drive and determination of our talented French pastry chef and dedicated team, inspired by the Parisian original, Donsuemor proudly launched the French Almond Cakes in September 2009. Although we had the desire to bake other products over the years, we committed to do so only if they could live up to the standards of the madeleine. The French Almond Cakes exceed our standard, and thus became the first new product Donsuemor developed since the first madeleine was baked in Berkeley in 1976.
History of Financiers
Financiers were created by a baker named Lasne in the financial district of Paris in the 1890’s. Named after the rich financiers who frequented his bakery, traditionally baked in the shape of gold bars, Lasne designed the little unglazed cake to be enjoyed without utensils or risk to suit, shirt or tie.
Financiers are as rich as the bankers they were named for. They are made with ground almonds, butter, sugar, flour, and eggs – pure and simple ingredients. Once you taste Donsuemor’s French Almond Cakes, you will know why Donsuemor is the one you remember.
– text & French Almond cakes photo from Donsuemor.com
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I had to resist eating them all before making the recipe, but I managed. I also managed to keep them out of everyone else’s hands. Partly because I hid the box. Yes I did, & I have no problem admitting that. Although people I know will read that & get a bit miffed, I’m sure, considering I think I told them there weren’t any more. Oops.
The quality & taste was definitely what I had expected. Anyone who knows me or reads the blog knows I’m honest to a fault, so trust me here. My father liked them so much, he asked for the website name (perhaps ordering me a gift… hmmm?). They were very moist, very cake-like, and had a great almond flavor. Because it was so warm & humid, I decided to go with an ice cream instead of a baked dessert; an almond ice cream to be exact. I crumbled up some of the cakes and mixed it in with the ice cream, and then topped each serving with a cookie. Mmmm.
Delicious little surprises in the form of chunks of almond cake throughout, plus those sliced almonds.
Do you love my ice cream sundae glasses? Not to mention ma petite tour Eiffel!
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I’m not kidding when I say this is some amazing ice cream. Fantastique. You know birthday cake ice cream? It has bits of cake floating through it, and sometimes ribbons of buttercream or sprinkles? Well, that’s awesome, but too much for me. I find it too sweet after a few bites. This was not. I ate way more of this ice cream than you’d think was humanly possible. Seriously. I even ate it for dinner one night. I broke out my grandmother’s vintage jadeite dessert plates, too. This ice cream (& me) certainly deserved it.
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Okay, enough teasing. You want the recipe, don’t you?
ALMOND ICE CREAM WITH CRUMBLED DONSUEMOR FRENCH ALMOND FINANCIERS
Ingredients:
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4-6 Donsuemor French almond cakes, crumbled, plus more kept intact for topping (if desired)
Directions:
- Whisk together cream, milk, sugar, and eggs in a heavy medium saucepan until they’re completely combined.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick enough to coat back of a spoon. Strain custard through a sieve into a medium bowl. Add vanilla & almond extracts and stir to mix thoroughly. Cool completely, then chill in the refrigerator (covered), 6-8 hours.
- Freeze in ice cream maker according to maker’s directions, adding the crumbled cakes 2-3 minutes before it’s finished. Ice cream will be the consistency of soft serve, freeze overnight for firmer set.
I have the KitchenAid ice cream maker stand mixer attachment, so it took about 20 minutes in there. However I made mine on a night when we had torrential rain, incredibly high humidity and it was pretty hot on top of that. Thanks to those conditions, my first attempt at photos were an epic fail; sure they looked cute, mainly thanks to my vintage plate & Eiffel tower set up… but the ice cream was a melty mess. On top of the initial ice cream’s soft consistency, it just melted all over the place in the high humidity. So I popped it in the freezer and the next day, voilà, perfection. With a mug of hazelnut coffee made in my Keurig… *sigh* However it’s positively French-Victorian picnic style when served with a cut crystal goblet filled with some cold sparkling Effervé lemonade.
Effervé had nothing to do with this post, it’s just delicious lemonade.
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A great way to salute the swan song of summer & say a delicious goodbye to that wonderful season. If not grudgingly. Also a good reason to hide in your house & hope Hurricane Irene steers clear of your home. Not that I speak from experience or anything…
I wish I was there to share this ice cream with you!! And that we could be together to eat whatever I end up making! LOL
Looks amazing, and what a wonderful story.
xoxo
Aww thanks Tania! I can’t wait to see yours! If the FedEx guy ever decides to bring ’em…
The coolest people I know live so far away 🙁 it sucks!
I love love love everything you did with this recipe and all your french references. Absolutely amazing. I too adore french culture, (I’m 3/4 french) my dad spoke it fluently when he was young but lost it once he went to school. I could have been so much more cultured! Ha, anyways great job and Tania never fear we’re going to get those treats to you if it kills me!
Thank you Nicole! I’m glad you like it!
French is one of the very few things that isn’t in my heritage, however I am a little Belgian… so I can parlay that into being somewhat French 😉
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