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This matcha financier recipe is a fantastic way to dive into the world of matcha-infused desserts. Simple, quick, and utterly delicious—these mini cakes are perfect for any occasion.

Recipe At a Glance

Financiers are delightful little almond cakes with brown butter. Matcha financiers put a simple spin on the classic by adding matcha powder. We also swap some of the almond and cake flour for shredded coconut (similar to my approach in the raspberry financiers recipe, enhancing both texture and flavor.

Mixing up the financier batter takes just 20 minutes, and after a brief 13- to 15-minute bake in a muffin tin, you’ll enjoy a batch of sweet, earthy mini cakes.

An added perk? These financiers use only egg whites, making them perfect for using up leftover whites.

Making matcha financiers for the first time? Please read the ingredients notes, step-by-step instructions, and tips. If you’re familiar with the recipe, feel free to jump to the recipe card.

Ingredients Notes and Substitutes

Egg whites. The base for the mini almond cakes.
Unsalted butter. We’ll brown the butter to infuse the cakes with its characteristic flavor and aroma.
Sugar. Regular white sugar is perfect, though powdered sugar is fine too.
Honey. Honey helps to keep the cakes super moist.
Almond flour. Go with store-bought, or you can make it at home if you have some blanched almonds handy.
Cake flour. I use cake flour for the financiers based on Hanbit Cho’s recommendation, but I’ve seen people have success with all-purpose flour as well. The recipe doesn’t use that much flour anyway, so substituting with AP flour shouldn’t be a big deal.
Matcha. Go with your favorite brand.
Shredded coconut. Coconut is a popular pairing with matcha. In this recipe, it adds texture and makes the flavor of these even better. If you don’t have shredded coconut on hand, use my basic financier recipe, reducing the amount of sugar by 0.5 oz and adding 1 tbsp of matcha.
Vanilla extract. Optional, but a bit helps improve the flavor.
Baking powder. Include baking powder if you prefer your financiers fluffy and cupcake-like, or omit it for a denser texture. I recommend using baking powder for first-timers.

How to Make Matcha Financiers

Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C).
Brown butter. Begin by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the butter becomes golden brown and gives off a nutty aroma (brown butter is also known as hazelnut butter for this reason). Depending on the heat, the browning process usually takes 5 to 10 minutes once the butter has melted. Initially, you’ll hear a sizzling sound, followed by bubbling and then a crackling noise. That’s when you should pay close attention to the butter as it should soon be ready (brown and smelling nutty). Once browned, remove from heat and place in a bowl of cold water so that it cools.

Place butter in a saucepan
Cook over medium heat
Stir until butter browns and smells nutty

Mix egg whites and sugar. Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl and whisk until combined. You don’t need to whip the whites – a good stir that makes a tiny bit of foam is good enough.

Add sugar and egg whites in a bowl
whisk until combined
and a bit of foam is formed

Add honey and vanilla. Pour the honey and vanilla extract into the bowl and mix everything.

Adding honey — Mix in the honey and vanilla extract

Add flours, matcha, and baking powder. Sift and mix together the almond flour, cake flour, matcha powder, and baking powder. Then, add the mixed ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine.

Sift the dry ingredients
Stir to combine

Mix in the shredded coconut.

Adding the shredded coconut — Mix in the shredded coconut

Add butter. Pour the brown butter into the bowl, including all the dark bits on the bottom of the pot, and stir to combine. Make sure the butter isn’t super hot so it doesn’t cook the whites.

Add the melted brown butter
Mix the batter thoroughly

Prepare the pan. For the financiers to come off the pan, you need to grease the mold with butter. The way I like to do this is to scoop some butter onto a piece of wax paper and spread it around the interior surface of the pan, trying to cover everything, including corners and edges. Once done, I use my index finger to spread the butter more evenly and reach all surfaces I might’ve missed. If your pan isn’t non-stick, dust it with AP flour or white sugar to make a non-stick layer. Cover everything and tap out any excess that doesn’t stick to the butter.

Greasing the mold with butter — Grease the mold with butter

Fill molds. Spoon or pour the batter into the molds, filling each to about three-quarters full. Depending on the size of your muffin tin, this should yield between 8 to 12 financiers.
Bake. Place the pan in the preheated oven and immediately lower the temperature to 360°F (180°C). Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until the edges begin to brown and the centers are set. If you need another test for doneness, insert a toothpick into a financier; it should come out dry.

Fill the pan to about three-quarters full
Bake for 13 to 15 minutes

Cool. Allow the financiers to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes before removing. To ease removal, gently run a silicone spatula around each cake, then invert the pan onto a wire rack to release the cakes.
Serve.

Green tea financiers with coconut bits — Matcha financiers with shredded coconut

Notes on Flavor

This recipe is crafted with matcha enthusiasts in mind. It features a robust, yet not overly sweet, matcha flavor.

As someone who isn’t a big fan of matcha, I had a few matcha lovers test these mini cakes, and they were thrilled with the results.

If you’re planning to serve a broader audience, however, I recommend two adjustments:

Halve the matcha. This tones down the bitter and earthy notes, making the financiers more appealing to the casual palate.
Add 0.5 oz of sugar. A little extra sugar enhances the sweetness, which helps balance the matcha’s bitterness.

Matcha financiers with brown butter and coconut — Matcha financiers with brown butter and shredded coconut

These tweaks soften the matcha intensity for those less fond of it (myself included) but may make the cakes too sweet and somewhat bland for true matcha aficionados.

Alternatively, stick to the original recipe and consider frosting some financiers. Some ideas include white chocolate whipped ganache (or any other white-chocolate-based frosting) that adds extra sweetness to offset the bitterness or lemon pastry cream for a zesty contrast.

This way, you can cater to matcha lovers with the unfrosted financiers and offer frosted ones to others.

Green tea financiers with shredded coconut

Tips

Here are a few things to keep in mind when making raspberry financiers:

Adjust baking time. Baking time varies depending on whether you use a financier mold, a regular muffin tin, or a mini muffin tin. A mini muffin tin or a financier mold needs about 10 to 12 minutes of baking, while a regular muffin tin somewhere between 13 and 15 minutes. Look for signs of browning around the edges and a set top.

Browning of edges — Look for browning around the edges

Prep batter while browning the butter. Browning the butter takes some time but doesn’t need constant oversight, just a quick stir every minute or two. This allows you to measure and mix the other ingredients while the butter browns.
Use a scale. Use your kitchen scale when measuring all the ingredients, especially the egg whites. Egg sizes vary, so weighing the whites is much more reliable than using the number of eggs. If you want to use up all your egg whites, scale the rest of the ingredients accordingly and make a couple more (or fewer) financiers.

For more tips, check out my basic financier recipe.

Storage

You can store these matcha financiers in a sealed container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. If you frost them, transfer them to the fridge.

Other Recipes to Try

Looking for other financier flavors? Check out our pistachio financiers, raspberry financiers, lemon financiers, brown butter financiers, or chocolate financiers.