Apple Claufouti

We've lived in this house three summers and every summer we talk about baking something using the apples from the tree in the backyard. They are a smaller, green apple. This year's crop is particularly plentiful. We don't own an apple picker but there are quite a few within arms reach.

My first exposure to a clafouti (kla-foo-TEE) was watching Ina Garten make a cherry one on Barefoot Contessa. A clafouti is a french batter cake. I just love the name, it's such a romantic sounding dessert. How fitting for my first clafouti to be the first dessert made with apples from our tree.



Apple Clafouti
Recipe from Saveur.com

FOR THE BATTER:
3 eggs
1 cup milk or heavy cream
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄2 tsp. salt
FOR THE APPLES:
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
4 tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1⁄2 cup plus 2 tsp. sugar
2–3 tbsp. brandy
Ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine milk, eggs, 6 tbsp. of the butter, vanilla, flour, sugar, and salt into a blender, blend until smooth, and set aside. Grease a 10" pie plate with remaining butter, then set in oven to heat.

For the apples: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and brandy and cook until apples are glazed and warm, about 5 minutes.

Remove pie plate from oven and immediately pour in half the batter. Arrange warm apple slices over batter, reserving juices, then pour remaining batter over apples. Sprinkle remaining sugar and a little cinnamon over batter.

Bake until clafouti is golden and set in the center, 25–30 minutes.

Drizzle with warmed reserved apple juices.