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.