You probably know tigers, little chocolate financiers. Cyril Lignac proposes some in his chocolate factory and seeing a photo of these small delicacies I immediately wanted to reproduce them!

But the chef didn't reveal the recipe. As there doesn't seem to be any secret I chose to adapt my financial recipe, so it gives tigers Cyril Lignac style.

These small cakes consist of a chocolate chip financier and a chocolate ganache heart under which are hidden crunchy chocolate pearls. It's actually these little pearls that make the Lignac touch, and I must say that it brings a very nice crunchy texture!

For the form I kept the same as the chef using moulds with small kouglofs. If you don't have any you can also use small savarin moulds, the main thing being to have a cavity to deposit some chocolate beads and cover with ganache.

It's a totally regressive pastry that will bring back memories of your childhood snacks!

Ingredients :

financial tigers :

75 g butter
50 g almond powder
85 g icing sugar
25 g flour
75 g egg white
35 g chocolate chips

Chocolate ganache :

60 g dark chocolate (Caraïbe de Valrhona)
60 g liquid cream
10 g butter
35 g crunchy chocolate beads

Preparation :

Tiger Financiers :

Melt butter until hazelnut and remove from heat. A hazelnut butter must be golden brown and have a hazelnut fragrance. If there are black impurities I advise you to filter it through a strainer.
Mix the almond powder, icing sugar and flour in a bowl.
Pour in the egg white and mix until you obtain a homogeneous paste.
Add the hazelnut butter and mix again.
Finish with the chocolate chips, but make sure before your dough is not hot to avoid melting them.
Fill the moulds to about 2 cm thick. With this quantity I was able to realize 9 financiers in my moulds with small kouglofs.
Bake for 15 minutes at 180°C.

Chocolate ganache :

Boil the cream.
Pour it 3 times over the chopped chocolate, mixing with a maryse between each step.
With a small amount like this, the chocolate may not melt completely, so you can melt it roughly in the microwave or bain-marie beforehand.
Add the butter and mix with your maryse until your ganache is perfectly smooth and shiny.
Deposit your financiers on a baking paper.
Add some chocolate beads to the center of your tigers.
Finally pour the ganache, using a small spoon or a pitcher with a spout. Your ganache must still be hot, and therefore liquid, to be poured easily.
If this is not the case you can heat it gently in a bain-marie (or in the microwave, but be careful not to burn it).
Then let the ganache set at room temperature or refrigerate if you are in a hurry. But whatever happens, keep your chocolate tigers at room temperature so that the ganache stays melting when you bite into them!

Tips and Advice to remember :

Always mix your dough with a wooden spoon or maryse. If you use a whisk you will incorporate air into the dough which will then swell during cooking.
I generally recommend leaving the dough to rest for 6 hours to keep them soft to the core. This is not useful here because of the particular shape and the addition of chocolate ganache.
It's the hazelnut butter that gives the financiers their special taste. Make sure it's just golden. If the butter is simply melted it will have no taste interest, if it starts to blacken it is simply bad for your health!
In order for the chocolate beads to be well caught in the ganache it is imperative that it is still hot and liquid. So don't hesitate to warm it up.
This also allows you to have a smooth finish on the top of your tigers.

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