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An inspired bring-to-work treat from a corporate player turned pro baker

As a little girl, Elyce Shapiro was well on her way to becoming a pastry chef. She just didn’t follow a conventional recipe to get there. In 2001, the University of Wisconsin-Madison grad earned a degree in Consumer Science and began a career in advertising and sports television programming. But by 2006, she was in a very different place: tempering chocolate, kneading brioche, and mastering the art of cake architecture as a student of “L’Art de la Pátisserie.”

“Growing up, I never played with dolls,” remembers Elyce. “When my friends came over, we baked. Whether it was from scratch or from a mix, we’d do fun things like change the color of a cake to green. I just never thought about pursuing it as a career.”

That was until Christmas of ‘04, when the family of a now-former boyfriend invited Elyce over to celebrate the holidays. Always the baker, she brought along dessert. But by some delicious twist of fate, this time it didn’t turn out as planned.

“I was so overstressed,” recalls Elyce. “The chocolate seized on me, the brownies were overcooked. But then I thought, if this was the stress of my day-to-day life, I would love it!”

Encouraged by her mother and friends, Elyce was meeting with a pastry chef at Chicago’s Kevin restaurant just a few days later. Though the home baker had no formal training or experience, this pastry chef was willing to teach her from scratch—and so the “crash course in pastry” began.

Sweet Treats by Elyce

Elyce started out by working her regular job by day, and pastry by night. But after only a month, leaving the corporate world was a forgone conclusion. She continued acquiring skills at Kevin, and later, Bin 36, and a Chicago bakery.

“My life did a complete 180,” explains Elyce. “I was getting up between 2:30 and 4:30 in the morning and working 18 hour days. You don’t eat normal; you don’t get breaks.”

Despite the huge amount of social and financial sacrifice, Elyce says she found herself
the happiest of her entire life: “Everything just happened naturally. Someone would teach me something and I would get it. Nothing had ever felt more comfortable or at home or right.”

Today the 29-year-old baker points to the inspiration found in Paulo Coelho’s symbolic story of The Alchemist (her favorite book). “I’m a big believer that everyone at some point realizes what her dream is,” she says. “But very few follow it.”

Elyce would go on to follow her dream, enrolling at Chicago’s acclaimed French Pastry School for an intense six month certification program of classes—seven hours a day, five days a week. She now works a 9-to-5 receptionist job (to help pay off student loans and bills), while crafting her muffins, madeleines, cup cakes, pound cakes, and fudgy brownies from her home kitchen at night.

This fall, Elyce plans to open her own Chicago bakery called “Pastries by Elyce.” Until then, the demand for her signature sweets, gift baskets, and pastry trays is bound to continue to spread by word—and taste—of mouth. She even credits her daytime co-workers for being some of her best customers.

So just what would a corporate compatriot turned pastry chef bring in as treat for her own office mates? We all know that a true baker never reveals her prized recipes, but below you’ll find an adaptation of one of Elyce’s favorites, Chocolate Raspberry Financiers.

Chocolate Raspberry Financiers

	A financier is a little French cake made with almond flour and browned butter. Wonderfully chocolaty, spongy, and moist, they can be made into individual bites (mini muffins) or cupcake size treats. Let your batter rest overnight in the fridge for a lighter texture and deep, rich nutty flavor.
photo by Holly Mayer

Ingredients

1-1/4 cups (150g) confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup (50g) almond flour*
1/4 cup (35g) pastry flour
1/4 cup (18g) cocoa powder
4 large (125g) egg whites
1/2 cup (125g) butter (unsalted)
1 tablespoon (14g) applesauce (unsweetened)
fresh raspberries

*Find almond flour at specialty stores like Whole Foods, Treasure Island, or Trader Joe’s.

Preparation

1. Brown your butter. To do this, place butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and melt till it’s golden brown in color. Strain the browned butter through a sieve into a heatproof container. Set aside and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.

3. Whisk the egg whites and applesauce into the dry mix.

4. Whisk in the browned butter, adding one half at a time to incorporate smoothly.

5. Let the mixture sit covered in the refrigerator overnight.

6. The next day, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

7. Grease muffin tins with butter or nonstick cooking spray.

8. Pipe or spoon your batter into muffin tins until each is about 3/4 full.

9. Place 1-5 raspberries on top of each muffin (depending on size) and push lightly into batter.

10. Bake financiers until they spring back to the touch, about 20-25 minutes (time may vary by muffin size and oven).

11. Remove from oven, let cool on a wire rack, and enjoy!

Yield
About 24 mini muffins or 6-8 standard muffins.

Note: If you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container—they’ll stay fresh at room temp (i.e. your desk) for several days. Financiers also freeze well, so make a bunch and be prepared for upcoming office birthdays, or a really sweet Friday.