TABLE FOR TWO: BAKING BUDDIES

TABLE FOR T WO

Baking Buddies

DO RI E G RE E N S PA N A N D PETE R SO M M A K E A N U PDATED VERSI O N O F A SW EET PA RISI A N TRE AT

BY K E R RY D I A M O N D P H OTO G R A P H E D BY V I N C E N Z O D I M I N O

When Dorie Greenspan opens the door of her Upper West Side apartment, the celebrated baker and author of 14 cookbooks discovers that she has a personal-style soulmate in fashion designer and culinary aficionado Peter Som. The two are sporting trim haircuts, round glasses, and blue shirts, although Greenspan is also wearing her signature Hermès scarf, tied just so. “I’ll change before the photo shoot,” Greenspan says with a laugh.

Within moments, they are chatting like old acquaintances, having discovered a mutual love for interior design, baking, and Paris. The two are as compatible as chocolate and peanut butter, or in today’s case, white chocolate and matcha, the star ingredients of the pistachio-matcha financiers that Greenspan is going to show Som how to make. While Som has made a name for himself over the years with his elegant, feminine designs (worn by the likes of Michelle Obama and Beyoncé), he’s been showing off his kitchen chops as of late, sharing his culinary creations on his website and social media accounts and working on a Pinterest food show called Flavor Chase.

“I’m such a huge fan,” he admits to Green span while flipping through her newest release, Baking with Dorie: Sweet, Salty & Simple, which features today’s recipe. “I have your cookbooks; I’ve made your World Peace Cookies, your carrot cake—I could go on and on.”

As legend has it, the financier was invented by a pastry chef in the 1800s who had a shop across from the Paris stock exchange.

Som and Greenspan in her N.Y.C. kitchen. The idea was to create something sweet that his wealthy clients could enjoy with no crumbs—et voilà! The bite-size baked good was born. “He wanted it to be as rich as the people who ate it, which is why there’s so much butter. How would you describe it?” Greenspan asks. “It’s a little cake, like a madeleine,” says Som. Once all the ingredients are combined, the financier dough has a unique, almost bouncy, texture, which results in a finished product that is light but chewy. As they move to the glaze, Greenspan reveals a trick much-loved by pastry chefs: melting chocolate in the microwave. A bit of matcha powder (don’t use the most expensive kind, counsels Greenspan) mixed into the liquid white chocolate tints the glaze light green and provides a subtle bitterness. A sprinkle of crushed, freeze-dried raspberries adds a pop of bright pink “and some nice acidity,” notes Som. “White chocolate is a fabulous ingredient because it takes on flavor and color so well,” explains Greenspan. “By itself, it’s not that interesting.” “It plays well with others,” suggests Som. Greenspan nods, smiling at her new friend. “Where have you been all my life?”

PISTACHIO-MATCHA FINANCIERS MAKES 28

FOR THE FINANCIERS 1½ sticks unsalted butter ¾ cup sugar ¾ cup shelled unsalted pistachios ¹/3 cup all-purpose flour ¹/3 cup whole wheat flour 1½ tsp matcha powder ¼ tsp fine sea salt 6 large egg whites, at room temperature, lightly beaten

FOR THE GLAZE 8 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped 1½ tsp canola oil Pinch of matcha powder Freeze-dried raspberry powder

TO MAKE THE FINANCIERS 1. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium until it comes just to a boil. Keep the butter warm. 2. Put the sugar and pistachios in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely ground. 3. Add both flours, matcha, and salt, and pulse a few times to blend. 4. Transfer to a medium bowl, then pour in the egg whites and combine gently with a flexible spatula until thoroughly blended. 5. Gradually incorporate the butter. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. 6. When ready to bake, center a rack in the oven and preheat to 400º F. Butter and flour mini-muffin tins with cups that hold 2 tablespoons of batter each. 7. Spoon the batter into the tins, filling the cups almost to the top. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the sides are deeply golden and the tops have crowned. Remove from the oven and wait 4 to 5 minutes, then flip onto a rack. Let cool completely. TO MAKE THE GLAZE 1. Mix the white chocolate and oil together in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave. Keep the heat low and check often. (You can also use a double boiler.) 2. Immediately mix the white chocolate with a little matcha (don’t use too much, or the color will get too dark and the taste too bitter). Dip the tops of the financiers in the glaze, letting the excess drip back into the bowl, then set on a rack. Sprinkle with crushed-up freeze-dried raspberries before the chocolate dries. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes to set the glaze.