Learn how to make coconut financiers with this easy recipe. These sweet coconut tea cakes are so adorable, topped with slices of Sungold kiwi fruit. These little kiwi cakes are a lovely dessert and also a nice snack.
I love baking financiers, but I especially love combining these sweet cakes with fruit. Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit have a pronounced tropical flavour, reminiscent of sweet mango, much sweeter than green kiwis. I had a feeling SunGold kiwis would be perfect in a coconut financier, just likes raspberries and blueberries make beautiful berry financiers. This recipe is a tropical twist on a classic French pastry.
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What You Need To Make Coconut Kiwi Cakes
The beauty of financiers like these is that you likely have all the ingredients in your pantry for them already! Here's what you need to make these little coconut cakes:
- kiwis—I used golden kiwis, which are sweeter. Look at the skin of the kiwi to tell if it's a golden kiwi, which has a smooth, soft skin unlike the fuzzy skin of a green kiwifruit. To find Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, check your local supermarket between May and October. I've found them in big boxes at Costco too!
- butter—I love to use nutty brown butter to make all my financiers. If you're new to making it, please read about the process of how to make brown butter.
- sugar—I prefer to make financiers with granulated white sugar for the cleanest taste. This way the coconut and kiwi fruit can really shine in this recipe!
- flour—I bake with regular bleached all-purpose flour but unbleached should also work.
- eggs—financiers are always made with egg whites. Use the leftover yolks to make homemade ice cream
- salt—I always bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount to avoid making these kiwi cakes too salty
Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Golden Kiwi Cakes
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. If the finish isn't non-stick, make sure to take the time to prepare the pan before baking: grease and flour 16 of the wells! If you are worried about sticking, you can cut out rounds of parchment paper to fit on the bottom of each muffin cup or even bake these with cupcake liners!
Step 1—Combine the dry ingredients (flour, coconut, sugar) in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S-blade (image 1). Process the ingredients to break down the coconut into a finer texture (image 2). Process it as much or as little as you want to achieve the desired texture.
Step 2—Whip the egg whites until they are thick and frothy (image 3) and then combine them with the dry ingredients, brown butter and vanilla extract (image 4). Stir the mixture with a Danish dough whisk until you have a thick batter (image 5). Cover the bowl to chill the batter before baking (image 6).
Step 3—Portion out the chilled batter into prepared mini muffin pans. I used a ¾ ounce scoop to make the job easier (image 7). Meanwhile, peel and slice the kiwi fruit so you have 16 rounds to garnish your coconut cakes (image 8).
Step 4—Top each coconut cake with a slice of Sungold kiwi (image 9) before baking until golden brown (image 10). You can use a cake tester to check that the middle is baked through.
Baking With Kiwis—Tips and Tricks
To peel kiwi fruit like golden kiwis, you can use a vegetable peeler or a pairing knife to remove the peel all around. Or you can use the method most of us are most familiar with: "cut & scoop" before slicing. While using a peeler to take the skin off a kiwi works, the fruit is rather slippery and difficult to handle, and the surface isn't as smooth as the scooped-out fruit. 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!
You can eat the peel! You can choose to leave the peel on and slice the whole golden kiwi fruit into rounds to garnish these coconut financiers. SunGold kiwis have a thin, smooth, hairless skin that is perfect for this.
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)
If you tried this recipe for the best coconut financiers (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 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
- 90 grams browned butter browned in a saucepan and left to cool to room temperature
- 2.5 mL pure vanilla extract
- 2 Zespri SunGold kiwifruit trimmed, peeled, and sliced into 16 rounds
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 (or line the bottom of each cup with a small round of parchment paper or use mini cupcake liners if you are worried the cakes will stick). When the batter has chilled, divide it between the prepared muffin cups. 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
Notes
- This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
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!