Brown Butter, Pistachio and Poppy Seed Financiers

Blogger La Tartine Gourmande, aka Béa Peltre, recently appeared on The Martha Stewart Show to make these financiers.  If you haven't seen her blog yet I highly recommend it; the pictures alone are  absolutely divine.

Lately I'm finding myself more and more drawn to simple, easy and delicious recipes and this one fits the bill.   No stand-mixer required; essentially just a mixing bowl and whisk.   Since pistachios are one of my favorite nuts these little cakes were definitely calling my name.  Add to it poppy seeds and brown butter and it's a done deal.  

I tweaked Béa's recipe just slightly and the financiers turned out delicious.  I skipped the cardamom pods (just didn't have any) and since my pistachios were more brown than green, a teeny tiny drop of food color.  My financiers were baked in this mini bundt pan, a great purchase I found at Home Goods, because I thought the shape would be perfect for these little cakes.

Brown Butter, Pistachio and Poppy Seed Financiers (adapted from La Tartine Gourmande)

1/2 cup shelled, unsalted green pistachios
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1/3 cup C4C gluten-free flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 large egg whites, lightly beaten until foamy

tiny drop of green food color, optional (if your pistachios are more brown)

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup shelled, unsalted green pistachios

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a standard muffin tin with 8 paper liners or a mini-muffin tin with 24 paper liners, or use silicone muffin molds; set aside.  [NOTE: I used a 12-portion mini bundt pan and sprayed it with Pam cooking spray.]

Using a coffee or spice grinder, grind 1/2 cup pistachios into a fine powder; set aside.  Grind remaining 1/4 cup pistachios and set aside in another bowl.  Add the 1/3 cup sugar and mix together.  This will be used to coat the baked financiers. 

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat until light brown in color; remove from heat.  Add vanilla bean and seeds; let stand for 10 minutes. Strain butter; discard solids and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together ground pistachios, C4C gluten-free flour, sugar, poppy seeds, and salt. Beat in egg whites until smooth; quickly stir in melted butter. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups (use 1 heaping teaspoon batter per mini, if using) and transfer to oven; bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 20 minutes for standard size and 12 to 14 minutes for mini. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Roll in sugar and ground pistachio mixture, if desired.