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.
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