Vanilla bean and candied kumquat financiers + a movie everyone should watch

I watched "Trust" last Saturday and liked it a lot: well directed with great performances, which to me is imperative when such a delicate subject is being portrayed. I took my sister with me because I thought it would be important for her to watch that movie and I think that parents, teenagers and even young adults should watch it, too.

One thing about the movie that surprised me was the

Nibby financiers

Certain smells, movies, songs – or even certain words – automatically remind us of certain people. In today’s case, it’s food that brings me two lovely friends of mine to mind – it’s impossible for me to bake financiers without thinking of @liliantrigo and Paula. :D



Nibby financiers
adapted from Rose's Heavenly Cakes

2/3 cup (66g) almond meal
1/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (51g) all purpose flour
¾

Lemon financiers

I realized something a good while ago: I bake when I’m happy, and I bake when I’m sad.

If something bothers me, or if people let me down, I bake – or feel the urge to. If I am glad about something, or someone I like deserves a treat, I bake, too. :)

These financiers were baked on a very happy day: I was going to meet four lovely, gorgeous, fantastic women, who I am very lucky to call my

Plum financiers

My financiers did not look exactly like RLB’s, but they made me feel really proud: layering all those plum slices was not a quick thing, let me tell you that.

I wish they looked more like flowers, therefore more beautiful, but I’ll be nice to myself this time: the three weeks from hell at work are over and I’ve survived. Do not know how, but I did. I deserve some kindness, even if it comes

Peanut butter financiers

Every time I get a new cookbook it takes me forever to choose which recipe to try from it first – the exception was Rose's Heavenly Cakes: I had to start with the weirdest recipe (in my opinion, of course). :)

I have made quite a few financier/friand recipes so far and these have gone straight to the #1 spot around here (sorry, pear friands). :)

Peanut butter financiers
from Rose's Heavenly

Orange blueberry friands - and Aragorn

Let’s keep on with the sweet posts, because I have a reputation to maintain. :D

On one of my rounds at IMDb, I ended up at “The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring” trivia and read that Stuart Townsend was Peter Jackson’s first idea for the role of Aragorn (which was a complete shock to me). Luckily Viggo *sigh* was chosen instead – talk about a perfect replacement. :D

I have some

Apricot jam friands

After reading that the lovely Taranii thought I was from Oceania because of the massive amounts of friands around here I might be ready to admit I’m addicted to these delicious and tender little cakes... :)

This recipe comes from DH mag #35 and is part of my “finishing up a jar of almond jam” project. :)

Apricot jam friands]
from Donna Hay magazine

½ cup + ½ tablespoon (75g) all purpose

Pear friands

Many of you have asked me if I eat everything I post here – not really, otherwise I’d be the size of a house. :) I do eat a little of each recipe I cook/bake and then decide if it is good enough to be shared with you, but the amounts are very modest: 2-3 cookies, 1 slice of cake, and so on. At first I did not think I’d be able to do that - because I love eating - but so far, so good. :)

These

Lemon pistachio friands + something new

There’s something new here today – and I know you’ll forgive me for the self-centered moment. :)After receiving emails and comments asking me about the kind of training I have, the equipment I use for my photos, etc., I’ve decided to add an “about me” page to TK – and that would have to come with a lemon recipe on the side, of course. :)Lemon pistachio friandsadapted from here190g unsalted

Pecan and maple friands

Unlike walnuts, which were an acquired taste, pecans were love at first bite – I instantly became a fan of their sweet and delicate flavor.These friands were delicious and I loved the pecans paired with maple syrup – they work really well together. Now I have got to try them together in ice cream form, too... Yum! :)Pecan and maple friandsfrom here1 cup (110g) pecan halves6 egg whites, lightly

Cherry friands

I am so disappointed: I used to watch Bill Granger’s videos on You Tube but they are all gone now. :(
At least that reminded me of how little I’d been using his books – this recipe comes from Simply Bill


I thought of my blogger friend Tatiane while baking these friands: like me, she’s mad for ice cream and is always searching for new ways to use her stash of egg whites – Tati, I hope you

Almond, vanilla and raspberry friands

The egg white saga goes on: what to do with all those poor egg whites left from the almost insane ice cream making going on in my kitchen? I did bake a batch of meringues last Saturday, but they ended up in the garbage can. I’m glad Julie Le Clerc’s adorable book was around – these friands are delicious.

Speaking of sagas, I don’t get all the hate towards “New Moon” – sure, it’s no “Raging

Toasted coconut and banana friands

Driving in Sao Paulo can be quite tiring and in the middle of the daily traffic jams the radio becomes my best friend.
Even though I listen to music most of the time, I love to catch Carla Pernambuco’s comments about food on MitFM. I’m a huge fan of her work and can’t wait to have dinner at her restaurant again.
Last week she was talking about financiers and friands and it suddenly hit me: I

White chocolate and pecan spice friands for Sugar High Friday

Or, “the poor little friand that stood alone”. Because the friand on the photo was the only one I could remove from the pans – all the other 6 got stuck! :(

I’d just received the book by mail and quickly looked for a recipe calling for spices (because of this month’s Sugar High Friday). I’d been meaning to try friands for ages and thought I’d found a great excuse for that (as if I needed an