Pistachio Financiers and Baking Paraphernalia

     French Financiers are super-simple to make.  The basic recipe for these little cakes is only 5 ingredients.  They go together quickly, bake in a matter of minutes, and are heavy in almond aroma!  A great little treat with a cup of tea or coffee.  I followed Jing Tio's recipe in Food & Wine magazine and studded my Financiers, as he did, with pistachios.  Consider, instead, marching fresh raspberries or blueberries down the center.

• 1 cup almond flour (or 1 cup whole, blanched almonds chopped, then finely ground in a food processor)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 24 to 30 shelled pistachios

PREHEAT OVEN to 400˚F
1.  Butter and flour sixteen 3 1/2-inch-long barquettes or 30 mini muffin pan cups.
2.  In a bowl, mix the almond powder and sugar. Whisk in the eggs until incorporated, then whisk in the melted butter, followed by the flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared barquette molds or mini muffin cups and decorate with the pistachios. Bake the cakes until golden brown, about 12 to16 minutes. Let cool slightly, then run a knife around each cake and transfer them to a rack to cool.

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     I thought I'd also show you some of my baking paraphernalia.  It isn't necessary to have drawers full of molds; there are basics that can serve you well.  I've just been enamored since a very young age with fanciful tins, French in particular.  It  started when I was a child and dreamed of opening a bakery. When I moved just outside of New York City, I would roam Greenwich Village and Soho, and started amassing my collection of French tinware when it was still cheap.  Luckily, there are now so many companies worldwide that are producing bakeware, you have options as far as costs go.  Bakeware basics to have are...

•  9 x 1 1/2-inch round cake pans (at least 2)
•  9 x 9 x 1 1/2-inch square baking pan
•  13 x 9 x 2-inch rectangular baking pan
•  12 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 1-inch jellyroll pan
•  9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan
•  2 3/4 x 1 1/2-inch, 12 cup muffin tin
•  9 1/2-inch and 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom

     The items above, for the most part, should get you by.  Below are a few more of my favorites, in case you feel like expanding your paraphernalia. 

     The rectangular (barquette) and oval tin molds, plus the silicone baking mold were the ones I used to bake the Pistachio Financiers.

     Some of my tart pans...  I often use the 4-inch x 1-inch to bake individual sweet and savory tarts.  The majority of my pans were made by the French company MATFER.  It is possible to purchase Matfer products on Amazon and the website Pastry Items.  If you happen to be visiting Paris, stop by the century-old shop E. Dehillerin.  It's a baker's paradise!

     Brioche Molds...for baking brioche, of course, but I have also made cakes and custards in these beautiful tins.

     You can never have too many tart pans if your first love is baking tarts.

     My most-used bread pans.

     I use these mini Mafter molds when I'm hosting big events.

     Everyone needs cooling racks!

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