Clafouti

This weekend my roommate Brendan threw a party (which involved creating a fire pit in the backyard) and so I decided it was time to test out a dessert recipe. In honor of the rustic nature of our new fire pit, essentially a hole dug in the grass ringed with bricks, I went with a rustic baked custard called clafouti.

Traditionally clafouti should have cherries, but I don't like cherry, and I had a recipe for apple clafouti. Let me tell you it was delicious, and it smells wonderful. This is the first time I have used a whole vanilla bean... I'm not sure I can go back to the liquid. The best part about this simple dish is that you saute the apples, then throw in the vanilla and sugar, so the kitchen is infused with the earthiest, sweetest smell, people kept coming in to trace it to the source. the second best part is that you make the whole thing in a cast iron skillet, so after you saute the apple and vanilla, you just pour the custard over and chuck it in the oven.

Clafouti also gave me a reason to finally try creme fraiche, a european sour cream closer to buttermilk or half and half. It doesn't have the cloying sweetness of whipped cream, although theoretically it can be whipped in a similar fashion.

I cannot recommend Clafouti enough! It is my kind of dessert, not too sweat, but with an understated richness. The recipe (below) calls for grappa or fruit brandy, neither of which we have. I used a spanish sherry, Amantillado. I was happy with the results, so I'm not rushing out for grappa. Also, I didn't follow the instructions about pouring the batter through a sieve, I don't have one, and I wasn't to concerned about a few lumps, it was meant to be rustic right? The only thing I would change is to maybe sprinkle some demerara sugar on the top before baking, I think the crunch might be a nice contrast to the baked custard.

Apple Clafouti (from Michael Chiarello)

Ingredients
Batter:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 cup milk

Apples:
1/4 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apple (1/2-inch dice; about 1 large apple)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon grappa, Calvados, or other fruit brandy
Confectioners' sugar for dusting
1/3 cup creme fraiche

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400oF.
Make the batter: Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and milk until well blended. Add about one-third of the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk to form a paste, then gradually incorporate the remaining egg mixture. Whisk until well blended.

Cook the apples: With the tip of a knife, scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the pod into an ovenproof 10-inch cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet. Add the pod and the butter and cook over moderately high heat until the butter turns nut brown. Add the apple and cook, stirring often, for about 3 minutes to soften them. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Sprinkle the apples with the granulated sugar, reduce the heat to moderately low, and cook until the apples are about three-fourths done and the sugar has melted and is coating the apples in a light syrup. Add the grappa or other brandy, swirl the pan briefly, then spread the fruit evenly in the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat. Working quickly, pour the batter through a sieve evenly over the fruit.
Bake until the edges of the clafouti are puffed and browned and the center is set, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Put some confectioners' sugar in a sieve and generously dust the surface of the clafouti. Serve warm directly from the pan with a dollop of creme fraiche.