Julia Childs Apple Clafouti Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a medium-size flameproof baking dish at least 1 1/2 inches deep.
• Place the milk, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour in a blender. Blend at top speed until smooth and frothy, about 1 minute.
• Pour a 1/4-inch layer of batter in the baking dish. Turn on a stove burner to low and set dish on top for a minute or two, until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat.
• Spread berries over the batter and sprinkle on the remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth with the back of a spoon. Place in the center of the oven and bake about 50 minutes, until top is puffed and browned and a tester plunged into its center comes out clean.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving. (Clafoutis need not be served hot, but should still be warm. It will sink slightly as it cools.)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Make the batter: Sift the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and milk until well blended. Add about 1/3 of the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth, then gradually incorporate the remaining egg mixture. Whisk until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
• 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 a pinch of salt. Add the apples and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar, reduce the heat to moderately low, and cook until the apples are almost cooked through and the sugar has melted and is coating the apples in a light syrup. Add the grappa or other brandy off the fire while pouring, place back on the fire, wait for flame to die down, the swirl the pan briefly. Spread the fruit evenly in the skillet.
• Working quickly, pour batter evenly over the fruit. Bake until the edges of the clafouti are puffed and browned and the center is set, about 15 minutes.
• 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.
• Michael's Notes: If you plan to serve individual clafoutis from mini pans, heat the pans in the oven until quite hot, about 5 minutes, then divide the cooked fruit among the pans, top with the batter, and bake. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the pans.
• To make a cherry clafouti, use 1 1/4 cups pitted cherries. Substitute 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest for the cinnamon and orange flavored liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier) for the grappa.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 10- or 10 1/2-inch ceramic tart pan, baking dish or clafoutis dish.
• Peel, core and slice the apples into 16ths. Toss with the lemon juice in a large bowl.
• Heat the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until they begin to look translucent, about four minutes. Add the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir together until the apples have softened slightly and begun to caramelize, six to eight minutes. Remove from the heat, and transfer to the baking dish.
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs with the seeds from the vanilla bean or the vanilla extract. Add the sugar and salt, and whisk together. Slowly beat in the flour, then add the yogurt and milk. Whisk until thoroughly blended. Pour over the apples in the baking dish.
• Place in the oven, and bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the clafoutis is firm and puffed. Check by pressing lightly on the middle. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack, or serve warm.

Steps:

• In a blender blend the milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Pour a 1/4 inch layer of the batter in a buttered 7 or 8 cup lightly buttered fireproof baking dish. Place in the oven until a film of batter sets in the pan. Remove from the heat and spread the cherries over the batter. Sprinkle on the 1/3 cup of sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about for about 45 minutes to an hour. The clafouti is done when puffed and brown and and a knife plunged in the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, serve warm.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using a blender, combine the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, and blend.
• Lightly butter an 8-cup baking dish, and pour a 1/4-inch layer of the blended mixture over the bottom. Set remaining batter aside.
• Place dish into the oven for about 7-10 minutes, until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven (but don't turn the oven off, yet).
• Distribute the pitted cherries over the set batter in the pan, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries and sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed and brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.
• Servings: 6-8 for dessert, 4 for breakfast.