RCP: Bolzano Apple Cake

[Jenise]

The intro to this recipe says, "Mark Bittman, the Times food columnist, described this cake as a "perfect clafoutis". But neither looking at it nor eating it would I have recognized it as such in that most clafouits I've had were made in tart forms and custardy. The least appealing to me of those could have been called fruit quiches, if such a term existed. This is nothing of the sort but rather, baked and released from a spring-form pan it consists of stratified, wafer-thin layers fresh apple bonded together in a rich, vanilla-bean laced moist cake batter that turns a beautiful, caramelized mahogany during baking. It's simple and elegant, the kind of fruit-based dessert I never feel guilty about serving, needing nothing but a dusting of powdered sugar to be complete.

Another big plus: it's desperately easy to put together. A bowl, a whisk, a spatula and a spring form pan are all the tools you need, and from start to finish you should have this in the oven in about 15 minutes--even less if you're a whiz at peeling and slicing.

Originally printed in 2004 from a Mark Bittman article about Seattle chef Scott Carsberg (chef/owner, Lampreia) "Seattle Grown, Italian-flavored".

8 tblsp unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing the pan
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean
4 medium Granny Smith apples
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
Confectioners sugar

Heat the oven to 375F. Line the base of a spring form pan with parchment, then smear the bottom and sides with a thick layer of butter. Dust with flour, turn the pan over, and tap lightly to remove excess flour. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Set aside.

Split the vanilla bean. Scrape out and reserve the seeds; put the pod in the butter.

Using a whisk, beat the eggs in a bowl and add half the sugar. Continue to beat while lowly adding the remaining sugar until thick--the batter should form a ribbon when dropped from your whisk. Add the vanilla bean scrapings.

Peel, quarter and core the apples, then slice thinly, about 1/8".

Remove the vanilla pod from the butter and stir the butter into the batter. Combine the flour and baking powder, and stir into the batter along with the milk. Finally, stir in the apples, coating every slice. Pour the batter into the prepared pan using your fingers to pat down evenly.

Bake for 25 minutes, then rotate the pan. Bake for another 25 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is brown on top.* A thin-bladed knife will come out clean when it is done--cool for 30 minutes. Best served while still warm.

*After the first 25 minutes, my cake was already the mahogany color I boasted of so I laid a piece of foil on top to prevent further browning. When I make this again, and I will!, I'll start it with the foil on top and then remove it at the halfway point so as not to inhibit crustiness along with that well-developed color.

For this bit of necromancy, I made Christine Ferber's clafoutis recipe and found it very unsatisfying. Hers is a pure flan, 6 eggs and 5 yolks but no flour at all, which is not at all the clafoutis I remember from Paris and the south of France. I'm going to try the version in "Je Sais Cuisiner", which uses 6 whole eggs and 100 g of flour. It was interesting to note that it was listed as a regional recipe from Limousin, which I wouldn't have expected, I guess.

I did notice that the "½ cup (60 g) flour, plus more for pan" that's in Bittman's recipe is not included in your transcription, so I figured I would note it here.

Walt

The instructions do say to add the flour!

Anyway, this looks like it doesn't work. It's just apples in a little custard. That's not cake and that's not clafouti.

Isn't there something like 1/2 cup of flour missing from the ingredients?

The instructions do say to add the flour!

Anyway, this looks like it doesn't work. It's just apples in a little custard. That's not cake and that's not clafouti.

I remember clafoutis as being a sweet cake, rich but not a custard, with unpitted cherries. I wonder if I'm confusing it with some other baked good? If you have a recipe I would be grateful. And yes, the instructions do say to add flour but don't specify how much, that's what I was noting it.

Clafoutis is expected to have whole cherries in it; anything else makes it flognarde. Some people say clafoutis is for spring and summer fruit while flognarde is for autumn and winter fruit.

Clafoutis is a silky cake or a sturdy custard. It's not a flan and it's certainly not crumb-y. Good rustic versions will puff up during baking (and collapse when they cool) and develop a slightly chewy skin.

All the big-name chefs have published a version (Julia Child, Richard Olney, Paula Wolfert, etc.). I use this one: it's based on 4 eggs instead of the usual 3, with extra milk and extra vanilla.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 to 8 medium plums (or 12 oz of any fruit you like)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1-1/2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar (for dusting)

1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a cast iron skillet.

2. Trim the plums into wedges that are 1/4 inch wide on the skin side of the cut. Toss the plums with 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, and arrange them evenly in the skillet.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in the milk and vanilla.

4. Pour the batter into the skillet, and place on the center rack in the oven. Bake just until set, about 1 hour.

5. When cooled, invert and remove from the skillet, and slice into wedges. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Meant to say: the 'whole cherries' thing is because people say the pits add a bit of almond flavor. Honestly, I'd toss a couple almonds in there and use pitted fruit; it's no fun spitting pits.

And: 'winter fruit' really means prunes and raisins, esp. ones that have been plumped in brandy first.