Learn how to make coconut financiers with this easy recipe. These sweet coconut tea cakes are so adorable, topped with slices of Sungold kiwi.
I have a friend who eats kiwifruit, skin and all. And I'm not talking about these SunGold kiwis with a thin, smooth, hairless skin. Nope. She eats the fuzzy-skinned green kiwis, outside and inside. She is the first and only person I've ever seen eat a kiwi like she was eating an apple. I'll never forget the day she pulled a fuzzy kiwi from her lunch and chomped down. I watched, fascinated. "Why waste the skin? It's all fibre!" She is right, kiwis (and kiwi skin) are full of fibre and lots of nutrients (vitamin C, E, and potassium too), but I still don't eat the skin of fuzzy green kiwifruit.
I have actually tried to peel a kiwi with a vegetable peeler. Sure, most of us are used to the "cut & scoop" method of kiwifruit extraction, but I thought I'd give a peeler a try, you know, for the sake of science. I wanted to know if the "cut & scoop" method we've all grown up using is really the best way to peel a kiwi. While using a peeler to take the skin off a kiwi does work, the fruit is rather slippery and difficult to handle the more you peel it, and the surface isn't as smooth as the scooped out fruit. Conclusion: definitely opt for the tried and true "cut & scoop" method to get the kiwi fruit out of the peel. It's easy and all you need is a spoon!
These Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit have a pronounced tropical flavour to them, reminiscent of sweet mango, much sweeter than green kiwis. I fell in love with these SunGold kiwis when I garnished a batch of coconut financiers with the sliced fruit. I had a feeling SunGold kiwis would be perfect in a coconut financier, just likes raspberries and blueberries make beautiful berry financiers.
The results with sungold kiwis were even better than I expected. The sweet, tropical flavour of the fruit persists even when baked. Biting into these SunGold kiwi coconut financiers made me wonder where else I could use this fruit. I'd never baked with kiwis before, and I wholeheartedly regret that. There needs to be more kiwi on my blog. Period. I am smitten. Head over heels.These SunGold kiwi coconut financiers made me smile and inspired me to think of kiwis in a completely different light. Try this recipe and I am quite certain you will understand why.
If you want to find Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, check your local supermarket between May and October. The smooth, soft skin are a good way of sorting the SunGold from the green kiwifruit.
For this recipe, I used a couple of vintage mini muffin pans that I found at a flea market years ago. The size of the muffin cups is slightly larger than a traditional mini muffin pan. Actually, these vintage mini muffin pans are similar in size to this push pop cake pan that you can find on Amazon. Just take the time to prepare the pan before baking: grease and flour 16 of the wells and you should be good to go!
Other Recipes for Financiers
If you love these mini coconut tea cakes, you will enjoy these other financiers recipes:
- chocolate financiers
- raspberry financiers
- chestnut financiers (gluten-free)
📖 Recipe
Sungold Kiwi Coconut Financiers
Ingredients
- 100 grams granulated sugar
- 63 grams bleached all-purpose flour
- 75 grams sweetened shredded coconut
- 0.625 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 120 grams large egg white(s) 4 large
- 115 grams unsalted butter browned in a saucepan and left to cool to room temperature
- 2.5 mL pure vanilla extract
- 2 Zespri SunGold kiwifruit
Instructions
- In small food processor (like this KitchenAid on Amazon), finely grind the sweetened coconut with the granulated sugar, flour, and salt. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until very frothy. Dump the egg whites over the dry ingredients, along with the cooled brown butter, and the vanilla. Fold everything together until you obtain a thick batter.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the batter chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter and flour 16 cups of a mini muffin pan (like this push pop pan on Amazon). When the batter has chilled, divide between the prepared cups. Cut the kiwifruit in half, and scoop out the flesh. Slice into 16 slices. Top each coconut financier with a slice of Zespri SunGold kiwifruit.
- Bake on the middle rack for 20–25 minutes, until the edges are golden and a skewer inserted into a cake comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes before unmolding to a wire rack to cool completely
Nutrition
This post is sponsored by Zespri Kiwifruit to promote their SunGold kiwi fruit. I was compensated monetarily and in product. As always, please know that I wouldn’t work with a sponsor nor recommend a product if it wasn’t worth it.
Laura says
These are just beautiful! I can see them on a Mother's Day table or special occasion, they are just so pretty! I will have to try them! Pinning for later.
Sean says
What a great recipe. I love that you've played off of the tropical golden kiwi flavour so nicely, yet kept the dessert simple and the fruit front-and-center. Great job as usual!
Colleen Milne says
These look so delicious and your photos are gorgeous. I'm jealous of those muffin tins! 🙂
Dana says
These are beautiful, Janice! I truly do not eat enough kiwis, let alone bake with them. This needs to change.
Ginni @Spicy Eggplant says
What a beautiful post and a lovely recipe. I love kiwi....so will definitely be looking to trying this recipe out.
Mardi (eat. live. travel. write.) says
These are SO pretty Janice! Love financiers with fruit!
Angelika J Thomas says
Making me drool with those beautiful photos!