Hello dear readers. Well, winter is really here as we were rained-in all weekend… which gave me a great excuse to try-out a few new recipes, sweet & savory, but has also given us the hint of a curious event on the horizon. I speak of nothing less than… snow! Can you imagine? A colleague shared with me that snow is predicted for Saturday in Bandol, and low & behold, my trusty iPhone showed little flakes on the weather app. And we all know the weather app never lies.
Again… snow!! My camera’s on stand-by for the weekend & so are more comforting winter recipes to try. Until then, please enjoy my belle mère’s recipe for apple clafoutis. Note: it’s a foundation recipe for any sweet clafouti you’d like to make, just add fruit & go wild!
Apple Clafoutis de la Belle Mère
Basic Clafoutis +Fruit
1 cup of corn starch 4 apples
1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 tablespoon Calvados (or bit more!)
4 eggs 1 packet of vanilla sugar
1 cup of milk
1 packet of vanilla sugar
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
1. Peel the apples and cut them into cubes. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan, add the apples, the packet of vanilla sugar (or 3 teaspoons of sugar plus a drop of vanilla flavoring), and the *Calvados. Brown the apples until the Calvados has evaporated & set mixture aside.
2. Melt an additional 2 tablespoons of butter and set it aside.
3. Mix the **cornstarch, sugar, & eggs together in a large bowl. Add in the milk and melted butter and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth (no lumps!).
4. Place the apple & Calvados mixture in a well-buttered pan (I used an 8-inch round Pyrex). Pour the clafoutis batter over the apples and bake for 30-35 minutes. Clafoutis should have a firm center and apples should be brown on top.
5. Remove from oven and sprinkle with vanilla sugar (or regular sugar); serve warm with your favorite coffee, tea, or glace (ice cream!).
*I’ve also tried rum with the apples, but Calvados is much better.
**This is a gluten-free recipe, you can substitute flour for a slightly different taste & consistency.
Oh Yum! Guess what I’m making for dessert tonight? Thanks so much for sharing – this Clafoutis looks soooo delicious. Many thanks to Belle Mere as well … you are so lucky.
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Glad you liked the recipe Marianne… and I do really have to thank my belle mere because she cooks & bakes so well. She has a handwritten collection of her recipes that I’m hoping she’ll pass on to me as time goes by. Can’t get enough of her home-cooking 🙂
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Ohhh, how exciting!!! I miss snow, so much, and can’t wait to see your pictures. 🙂 I’ve never had apple clafoutis before, only cherry. But this sounds marvy. 🙂
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Thanks Krista 🙂 There’s snow now in Aix en Provence and waiting for it to come our way… I’ve got my camera ready!
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I love clafoutis; you can do so many variations although I have never seen any recipe with calvados which I think will be especially wonderful with the apples. Thanks for sharing.
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Merci Michel, I hope you’ll have a chance to try the recipe – the Calvados does add extra flavor to the clafoutis … plus the basic recipe works well with all fruits! Just love French “baking” 🙂
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oh wow, gluten-free clafoutis made from corn starch! awesome! will try this version as i love apples and Calvados! I always keep a bottle of Calvados in my pantry even though it costs, like, $50 here in Canada for a bottle!
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Thanks Jen! I know… Calvados is quite expensive, even here. But totally great for cooking…plus, I am such a fan of apple desserts – just love the way they smell while they’re baking!
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