Almond Brown-Butter Cakes

My best friend from high school mentioned that she and her husband have never tried anything i've baked. They're driving back to San Francisco today so I made them a care package of oatmeal coconut raspberry bars, banana bread pudding, and these almond financiers from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course.

I didn't have almond flour; I just ground sliced blanched almonds in a food processor. I think the cakes would be better made with very fine almond flour though. It's a good recipe. The batter is easy to make and keeps in the fridge for three days.

Almond Brown-Butter Cakes
adapted from Claudia Fleming's The Last Course
yield: 15 small cakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup almond flour
1/3 cup cake flour
4 large egg whites (about 1/2 cup)
2-3 tbsp blanched sliced almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Continue to let the butter cook until some of the white milk solids fall to the bottom of the skillet and turn a rich hazelnut brown. Strain the browned butter through a fine sieve into a clean bowl.

2. Sift together the confectioners' sugar, almond flour, and cake flour. Place the sifted ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer witted with the whisk attachment. On the lowest speed, add the egg whites and mix until all the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the speed to low and mix in the browned butter. Increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth. (The batter can be made up to 3 days in advance and refrigerated until needed.)

3. Butter and flour 15 mini muffin tins. Spoon the batter into the tins and place 2-3 almond slices on top of each. Bake the cakes for about 15 minutes, until they are golden brown around the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.