Xanthan Xperiment: Financiers (Part 1)

Yesterday afternoon I found myself unexpectedly in possession of three hours of free time and (thanks to Wegmans and Bob's Red Mill) a crinkly new bag of all-purpose gluten-free flour: a tailor-made opportunity to embark on my inaugural gluten-free baking adventure! I chose to tackle financiers because, as attentive readers are well-aware, they are one of my favorite treats in the world. Also, as luck would have it, I had all the required ingredients to hand.

I had previously done a little research into the matter of gluten-free baking, and been sternly warned by a variety of internet authorities that g/f goodies cannot be produced satisfactorily without the addition of Xanthan gum to the dry ingredients. The logic goes like this: the gluten in wheat flour provides doughs and batters with elasticity, structural stability, and leavening potential while at the same time contributing to the chewiness and texture of the final product. Take away the gluten and all you are left with is a pile of crumbs or (worse) an oozy unset mixture bubbling all over the bottom of your beautiful Wolf oven. Xanthan gum, a miracle ingredient by all accounts, adds the viscosity and volume required to forestall these catastrophes. I quickly acquired some from the gluten-free aisle at Wegmans and added it to my arsenal.

There is no hard and fast rule for the use of Xanthan gum, as proportions vary according to the type of product desired and variety of flour used. How much was I supposed to add to my financier recipe? As George Carlin used to say, 'Folks, this is where a background in science comes in handy.' Two batches of cakes were obviously required: one (the control) with no added Xanthan and one with just a pinch (I reasoned that if the Xanthaned batch was more successful, I could hone quantities during future experiments). I rapidly assembled two sets of baking utensils in order to avoid cross-contamination; carefully labelled one end of my baking tin with a Sharpie  ('X' for Xanthan); and set to work.

First I assembled two identical bowls of dry ingredients: sugar, ground almonds, and the aforementioned g/f flour (a blend of chickpea flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, white sorghum flour, and fava bean flour). The flour proved to be slightly darker than the lily-white enriched stuff I was accustomed to using, with a familiar texture and not unpleasant nutty aroma. To one bowl, I added a pinch of Xanthan gum, a very fine white powder that seemed innocuous enough until I tried to wash it off my index finger and thumb - only to be instantly repulsed by the resulting slimy gunk. I added the wet ingredients to my two bowls and could detect no appreciable difference between them, although both seemed a little grainier than usual.

After the ingredients had rested for the required five minutes, the Xanthaned mixture showed a marked increase in viscosity. I poured the batters into their duly designated pan-ends and noted that they produced an equal number of cakes. Into the oven they went, where they peacefully baked for the customary fifteen minutes.

Upon removing the pan from the oven, I was immediately struck by the difference in appearance between the two batches. The non-Xanthaned cakes were evenly-risen and browned, with a lovely little dome on top. The Xanthaned cakes had flat edges, more browned than the rest, and an odd (though very French) little lump in the middle:

Two financier specimens: the state-house dome and even browning
of the non-Xanthaned cake are clearly visible on the right

A four-person tasting panel was hastily convened, consisting of myself, Sir, the Kid Squid, and the Kid Squid's Gaming Partner for the afternoon, lured away from Halo Reach destruction by the promise of baked goods straight from the oven. Comments concerning appearance, taste, and texture were solicited and duly recorded in my trusty Moleskine notebook.

Appearance: the young tasters found the non-Xanthaned cakes more aesthetically pleasing, although the adults appreciated the rather more authentic appearance of the Xanthaned variety, finding the dark edges enticingly redolent of crispiness and caramelization.

Taste: before tasting them, the Kid Squid and the KSGP reported a strange aroma emanating from the Xanthaned cakes, an assertion dismissed by the adults as youthful grandstanding. None of the panel reported a significant difference in taste between the two batches, which were both nutty, buttery and delicious. An extremely satisfactory and somewhat counterintuitive result!

Texture: this is where opinions were strong and unified. All four tasters vastly preferred the texture and consistency of the non-Xanthaned financiers, describing the Xanthaned cakes variously as 'spongy', 'dense', 'gummy', and 'gross'.

Verdict: a unanimous preference for the non-Xanthaned cakes and a happy confirmation that gluten-free baking need not be overly earnest or complicated. The boys returned to Halo Reach while Sir and I washed a mountain of dishes (the kitchen looked like a chemistry lab at the conclusion of an experiment gone horribly wrong), content in the knowledge that we still had financiers in our lives.

Next up - the full g/f recipe and a defence of metal baking pans.