The Best Pistachio and Raspberry Financiers Recipe

I made these for the first time because I had egg whites I didn’t know what to do with. Four of them, in a little bowl in the fridge, from a custard I’d made two days earlier. I kept telling myself I’d find something to do with them. I almost threw them out.

The batch I made that night was gone by the next morning. My partner ate three. I ate two standing over the cooling rack, which I told myself didn’t count. Pistachio and raspberry financiers have been in rotation ever since, which is probably two or three years now.

They’re genuinely low-effort for what you get out of them. No creaming butter, no waiting for layers to cool, no fussing with a piping bag. You brown some butter, mix a bowl of dry ingredients, stir it all together, and bake. The hardest part is waiting the 10 minutes for the butter to cool down enough before you add the egg whites. That’s it. If you’re feeding a crowd or need something to bring to someone’s house, these are the thing I’d make. They hold up well out of the tin, they don’t need refrigerating, and they look like you spent more time than you did.

If you’ve never made financiers before, the pistachio and raspberry version is a good place to start. The raspberry cuts through the richness of the browned butter and the pistachios give you a slightly savory edge that plain almond ones don’t have.

How to Make Pistachio and Raspberry Financiers

Brown the butter first. Everything else happens while it cools. You’re probably looking at 15 minutes of actual work.

1. Heat your oven to 200°C (390°F) on conventional, or 185°C (365°F) fan. Butter your financier molds thoroughly, then dust them with either plain flour or finely ground pistachios. Get into the corners.
2. Put 100g of unsalted butter into a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Stir it occasionally and watch the color. It’ll foam, then the foam will settle, and then you’ll start to see the milk solids at the bottom turn brown. That’s what you want. Pull it when it smells nutty and looks like strong tea. Pour it straight into a bowl to stop the cooking. Leave it for 10 minutes.
3. While the butter cools, blitz 60g of raw unsalted pistachios in a food processor until you have a fine powder. Stop before it turns to paste. Ten to fifteen seconds is usually enough, depending on your machine.
4. In a mixing bowl, combine 80g ground almonds, your ground pistachios, 150g sifted icing sugar, 50g plain flour, and a pinch of fine sea salt. Give it a stir.
5. Add 4 egg whites directly to the dry ingredients. No need to whip them first. Stir until you have a rough batter, then pour in the cooled brown butter and mix until it comes together smoothly. It should look slightly glossy.
6. Spoon the batter into your molds, about two-thirds full. Lay 2 or 3 fresh raspberries on top of each one and press them down gently, just enough to anchor them.
7. Bake 12 to 15 minutes. The edges should be golden and the centers should spring back when you press them lightly. Rest them in the molds for 5 minutes before turning them out.

The thing most people get wrong: They don’t brown the butter far enough. They get nervous and pull it too early, at the foamy yellow stage, before the milk solids have actually colored. The result tastes fine but flat. You want it to smell like roasted hazelnuts. If it doesn’t smell like that, it’s not done. A light-colored or stainless pan helps because you can see exactly what’s happening at the bottom.

Timing: Around 35 minutes start to finish, but this depends on your oven and your mold size. Smaller molds bake faster. Worth checking at the 11-minute mark the first time you make them.

Tips for the Best Pistachio and Raspberry Financiers

Take the egg whites out of the fridge 20 minutes before you start. Cold whites mix into the dry ingredients unevenly. Room temperature ones fold in clean and give you a smoother batter. This is one of those small things that actually shows up in the finished texture.

Rest the batter if you have the time. 30 to 60 minutes in the fridge lets the flour absorb fully, and the pistachio and raspberry financiers come out noticeably more tender. I usually make the batter before dinner, stick it in the fridge, and bake after we’ve eaten. The batter will keep up to 48 hours, so you could do it the night before.

Weigh the egg whites, don’t just count them. Large egg whites range from 28g to 40g depending on the egg. That’s a big swing across four eggs. You want 120g total. It takes an extra 30 seconds and removes a real variable from the recipe.

Don’t push the raspberries deep into the batter. Lay them on the surface and press just enough so they sit flat. Pushed too far down, they steam inside the batter and create a sunken wet pocket. On the surface, they soften gently and the juices bleed into the top in a way that actually looks good.

Grease the molds more than you think you need to. The sugar content in this batter is high, and it sticks. Butter every surface, including the lip of each cavity, then add the flour or pistachio dust on top. If a financier tears coming out of the mold, it’s almost always because the greasing was rushed.

“Made these for a dinner party and got asked for the recipe four times. I didn’t tell anyone how easy they are.” — from a reader message

Ingredients for Pistachio and Raspberry Financiers

Most of what you need for pistachio and raspberry financiers is already in your pantry. The only things to buy fresh are the pistachios if you don’t have them, and the raspberries.

Makes 12 financiers:

• 100g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 60g raw unsalted pistachios, shelled
• 80g ground almonds
• 150g icing sugar, sifted
• 50g plain flour
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 4 large egg whites (120g weighed)
• 80-100g fresh raspberries (roughly 24-30 berries)

On the pistachios: Raw and unsalted is what you want. Avoid anything labeled “dry roasted” or “honey roasted” since the added coating changes how the ground powder behaves in the batter and you’ll taste it. Pre-shelled is fine. Iranian or Sicilian pistachios tend to have better flavor than generic bags, but honestly any raw unsalted pistachio works.

Fresh raspberries only for the topping. Frozen ones bleed too much water into the batter while baking and the top ends up soggy. Save frozen raspberries for smoothies.

Variations

Lemon and Poppy Seed Drop the pistachios, use all ground almonds instead, and add the zest of 2 lemons plus 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds to the dry ingredients. No fruit on top. These are cleaner and more subtle than the pistachio version. Good with afternoon tea.

Hazelnut Swap the 60g pistachios for 60g blanched hazelnuts, blitzed the same way. Press half a toasted hazelnut into each one instead of raspberries. These work well at a brunch spread alongside coffee.

Orange Blossom and Apricot Use all ground almonds, no pistachios. Add 1 teaspoon of orange blossom water to the batter with the egg whites. Press a small piece of fresh or poached apricot into the top of each one. Serve with crème fraîche as a proper dessert.

Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Replace 20g of the icing sugar with 20g of unsweetened cocoa powder. No fruit. Finish with a few flakes of sea salt pressed in before baking. These are less sweet than the pistachio version and work as an after-dinner bite with something you’re drinking.

Matcha Sift 1 tablespoon of matcha into the dry ingredients in place of the pistachios. Add a small square of white chocolate into the center of each mold before filling. The chocolate sinks and melts during baking.

Once you’ve made the base recipe a couple of times, swapping variations takes no extra thought. The batter is the same every time.

Storage and Leftovers

Room temperature in an airtight tin or container, up to 3 days. After that they start getting dry. Don’t refrigerate them if you can help it. The cold dries them out faster than leaving them on the counter.

Freezer: Up to 2 months, fully cooled first. Freeze on a tray in a single layer for an hour before bagging so they don’t stick together. The unbaked batter also freezes well for up to 6 weeks. Portion it into a piping bag or container, freeze, and bake from frozen with 3-4 extra minutes added to the time.

Reheating in the oven: 160°C (320°F) for 5-7 minutes. This is the only method that brings back any crispness on the outside. Worth it if you’re serving them to someone.

Microwave: 15-20 seconds on medium. The outside stays soft but the inside is fine. Good enough for eating one at 7am before you’ve made coffee.

What to do with leftovers beyond eating them plain: Crumble them over vanilla ice cream. They add texture without being too sweet. Layer broken pieces with whipped cream and fresh raspberries in a glass for something that looks assembled even though it took four minutes. Or just eat one cold with coffee the next morning, which is genuinely one of the better breakfasts on a good day.

Questions

Do I need the rectangular financier molds? No. A standard 12-cup mini muffin tin works. The shape is different but everything else is identical. Grease it the same way, bake for the same time.

My financiers stuck to the molds. What happened? Almost always a greasing issue. The sugar in the batter is sticky. Next time, butter every surface and then add a fine dusting of flour or ground pistachios on top of the butter. Let the greased mold cool in the fridge for 5 minutes before filling if your kitchen is warm.

Can I use frozen egg whites from the freezer? Yes. Thaw completely and bring to room temperature before using. Don’t use carton egg whites that contain stabilizers or additives. They behave differently and the batter won’t come together the same way.

Why did the centers sink? Three likely reasons: oven too cool, batter over-mixed, or raspberries pushed too deep. An oven thermometer is worth buying if you bake regularly. Most ovens run 10-15°C off what the dial says.

Can I make the batter ahead? Yes. Up to 48 hours in the fridge. The rested batter actually produces better pistachio and raspberry financiers than freshly made batter. Stir it briefly before filling the molds because the butter can settle slightly.

Pistachio and raspberry financiers are one of those recipes where the results don’t match how little effort goes in. The browning of the butter is the technique that matters most. Get that right and the rest of the recipe is just assembly. Make them once and you’ll know exactly what to adjust next time.