I had a nice long weekend but have still been recovering from my cold. So I decided to take it easy this week and make something simple and delicious. At first I visited the farm stand and bought a bag of fresh apples, astounded that it’s nearly fall. And I attempted to make a chewy, thin, spicy cookie, filled with apples. But after many trials and errors, I ended up making my recipe at the last minute and tried something I’ve wanted to make for a while. Apple clafoutis. It’s usually made with plums or cherries, but I knew apples would taste delicious. 

Apple Clafoutis with Brown Butter + Cinnamon

It was a little strange to go back to work on Wednesday after my time off. But I was excited to see my friends like after a school vacation. I left the house before 8 and stopped at the grocery store down the street from the cooking store before work. Indulging in a bacon egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on a croissant and a chocolate muffin. So my day was already off to a great start. Work was great, and I fell right back into the swing of things in no-time. And before I knew it, I had another day off. Farmers market day. 

As I mentioned last week, I’ve been slightly sad anticipating the closure of the farmers market in October. I love fall weather and produce, but as we get closer to pumpkin season I’m grieving my weekly routine. I’m a Virgo and a creature of habit and I love having something to do each Thursday. To eat my everything bagel and ponder recipes while walking in the field. I will miss the zucchini flowers, bright tomatoes, and baskets of graffiti eggplants. I won’t miss trudging downtown when I’m tired. This week I had my sights set on apples. That beautiful gradient of light green, yellow, and red. 

Sweet Nectar Apples

I picked out a variety called Nectar apples, which were labeled as sweet, sour, and crunchy. Perfect for an apple dessert. I bought a whole arm full and walked them to my car. Feeling refreshed and excited to start revisiting the fall recipes I’ve wanted to make for years. I’ve made apple pie blondies, which were incredible, apple scones, coconut cream tarts, pumpkin cookies, and more. But apples are so easy to cook with and the options felt endless. I spent the morning, after eating breakfast, brainstorming ideas. 

My first idea was to make apple cookies. A chewy, buttery base filled with spiced, cooked apples. Brown butter and cinnamon goodness. So I made it. Starting with brown butter in my stainless steel pan and a mountain of diced apples. I tasted a few bites along the way and loved how sharp and sweet they were. Similar to honey crisp, my favorite. I improvised while sautéing them, splashing in a little fresh vanilla, brown butter, and sprinkling on ground cinnamon, ginger, and sugar. The smell was heavenly. Like a morning at an apple orchard with a cider donut in hand. 

Brown Butter + Cinnamon

I let the apple chunks cool for a bit before adding them to my cookie dough. Then I threw together a brown butter cookie dough base, adapted from my M&M cookies. Then I folded in my apples and refrigerated my dough. Too tired to bake them. So I geared up for the rest of my work week and planned to bake them on Sunday. Because of the moisture in the apples, it was impossible to get the texture I wanted. Not chewy enough, little spread, but great flavor. I snacked on them, little apple muffin tops, and decided to just relax for the rest of Sunday.

We watched the U.S. Open final unenthusiastically, as our favorite players had already lost. The weather was grey and rainy. I wore a sweater for the first time in a while. Anyway, I started to feel very anxious. Giving myself only a day to do my whole blog is never ideal. It always puts pressure on me, too, to not fail a second time. So I scoured the internet for more apple recipes. I wrote down nearly a dozen ideas. Mini apple tarts in my new miniature tart pans. Maybe some kind of set custard, like pasteis de nata, with apples on top.

Recipe Brainstorming

I thought about slab pie instead of traditional apple pie, or even a layer cake with caramel frosting. But nothing sounded exciting to me. I focused on finishing a custom painting and went to bed late. Tossing and turning with apples bobbing around in my head. When Monday came the weather brightened and I spent the morning taking a nice drive to the store. I picked up butter, just in case, as well as eggs and more apples from the farm stand. There were two golden retrievers in the car parked next to mine, which I had to exercise a lot of self control not to pet.

I drove home and stared at my bag of apples. Round 2. Still with little idea what to make. My mind wandered to Dutch babies and simple apple pancakes. Which reminded me of a recipe I’ve wanted to make for a long time. Clafoutis. I could make an apple clafoutis, in one pan, and add plenty of warm spices without sacrificing the texture. I could use brown butter too and get some work done while it baked. But I wrestled with my perfectionism. As usual.

Sliced Apples

I don’t know how to describe this kind of self-flagellation: dreaming of the perfect color, shape, and texture for a recipe with the most intensely beautiful flavor ever. No ordinary apple pie or tart would do. I expect myself for some reason to not only paint something creative, colorful, and beautiful, but to craft a recipe so unique and delicious that I somehow blow all my other recipes out of the water. But not every recipe becomes my favorite. Not everything is a vibrant layer cake topped with edible flowers or my beloved peach danishes. So I went back to the apple clafoutis. I forced myself to start before I could change my mind. 

So I found myself slicing apples with my favorite knife, reflecting on a week of instructing strangers on carbon blades and the advantages of stainless steel pans. I’m feeling proud of how much I’ve learned lately and find it intoxicating to get to teach people about cooking each day. It doesn’t feel like work most of the time. I kept slicing and slicing until I had a mountain of apple moons. As they began to brown I hurried to prepare my stainless steel pan. In retrospect I should have used my seasoned cast iron pan for a slightly thicker apple clafoutis. But I wanted to put my knowledge of stainless steel to the test and see if I could get it nice and nonstick. 

Stainless Steel Magic

I’ve learned in my research that if you heat a stainless steel pan on low-medium for a few minutes before adding the oil or butter it will heat more evenly and be more nonstick. So I tried it, and as I sautéed my apples I was blown away by the slickness of the surface. The brown butter bubbled and softened my apples into a pile of semi-soft golden leaves. I added cinnamon and vanilla again and some salt and sugar. Then, all I had to do was whip up a quick crepe-like batter in a blender. Just flour, eggs, milk, and flavorings. It whizzed away as I warmed up leftovers for lunch and I preheated the oven. 

I used the same stainless steel pan, which was a little too shallow and wide. I added a little more brown butter and coated the edges. Then I spread a thin layer of batter on the bottom and then added my apples. I poured all the batter on the top and then fanned over my leftover apple cheeks, thinly sliced, in several piles on the top. The last thing I added was a quick sprinkle of cinnamon sugar and it baked away for 40 minutes. The house filled with that signature cinnamon-apple scent. Candles be damned. Finally I had a golden brown, crispy-edged apple clafoutis. Peeling away from the sides.

Warm, Gooey Apple Cake

After letting it cool slightly I popped it out of the pan and sliced it. Still warm, like a thin slice of apple pie. And I whipped up a bowl of maple whipped cream. One of my favorite things to add to fall desserts. Then I dug in. The apple clafoutis had a crisp, golden bottom from the brown butter. The inside was filled with gelatinous, tart, spiced apples and a custardy crepe-like batter. The fans of apple slices on top were beautiful and sliced into abstract shapes floating in golden space. I loved how the whipped cream looked on top of each triangle. The actual clafoutis is chewy but tender and reminded me of a dutch baby.

Before I knew it a whole slice was gone. I melted into the tart, fresh apples covered in cinnamon and brown butter. My first taste of fall for the year. And finally I relaxed. Both to rest my mind and to defeat the lingering cold in my body. I enjoyed a warm, sunny afternoon. Probably one of the last we’ll have for a while. And I reflected on my week. A pierogi class at work. Celebrity sightings. And a visit to a brand new bakery. The sticky buns were fantastic! I’m looking forward to revisiting my list of apple desserts in a few weeks when my mind is clearer. When I’m more adjusted to my work schedule again and I feel less antagonized by perfectionism.

Simplicity is Delicious

As always, I’m fighting my overthinking and self-criticism. Part of me thought this recipe wasn’t enough. That the apple clafoutis was too flat or too simple. Just a dollop of whipped cream on top like your grandma would give you. But I reminded myself of the beauty of simplicity. And I felt happy having tried a recipe I’ve wanted to make for a while. At the end of the day it was delicious. And I have plenty of time to try something more complicated. I hope this fall and winter is filled with warm soups, spicy curries, and cinnamon desserts. And I hope I continue to allow myself to rest and actually relax. Life is not a competition. 

Thank you for reading! Be sure to check out my Etsy shop for 100’s of art prints and recipe cards. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off. See you next time!

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Apple Clafoutis

A French oven pancake filled with warm spiced apples

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword apples, clafoutis

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 5 honey crisp apples
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup AP Flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

• Peel and slice 5 apples. Heat 2 tbsp butter in a 10” sauté pan over medium heat.
• Sauté 4 of the apples in butter. Add 1 tsp ground cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
• Stir constantly for 3-4 minutes until semi-soft. Remove apples from pan and allow juices to drain.
• Combine flour, white sugar, maple syrup, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp vanilla extract, eggs, egg yolks, whole milk, and heavy cream in a blender. Blend for 1-2 minutes until smooth.
• Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and let rest. Heat sauté pan over medium heat and add the rest of your butter (2 tbsp).
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook butter until it begins to brown and remove from heat.
• Pour enough of the batter to coat the bottom of the pan and spread cooked apples on top. Then, pour the rest of the batter on top.
• Decorate the top of the clafoutis with thin apple slices and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake for 35-40 minutes until slightly jiggly in the middle.
• Let cool and remove from pan. Slice and dust with powdered sugar. Serve with a dollop of maple whipped cream.

Notes

• You can use your favorite type of apple – if using Granny Smith, add an extra sprinkle of sugar on the top. 
• You can also use pears or other fruits in place of apples if you prefer. Adjust your sugar level accordingly!