Raspberry Clafouti

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Raspberry Clafouti

There are few things that could get me to turn on the oven in the middle of this oppressive heat wave. However, much to the dismay of my panting dog, clafouti is one of them.

Unlike almost everyone else in the country right now, the red and golden raspberries in our garden are adoring the heat. They have just started to really take off, offering up several pints a week. (That is, those that aren't stolen when I'm not looking, right off the thorny branches, by aforementioned panting dog).

Clafouti ("klau-foo-tee") is a both rustic and elegant dessert, with a ridiculously fun to say name, that originated in the Limousin region in the southwest of France. It was traditionally made with cherries, as they had an abundance they had to figure out what to do with each summer, poor things. I learned of it from my well-loved, dog-eared copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and was in love from the start. Further investigation revealed that when made with any other fruit other than the traditional cherries, it is actually not called Clafouti, but "Flaugnarde". Are you kidding me? I feel like those rogue Limousinians just came up with the most clumsy sounding word they could to shame the rest of the world into strict adherence to their recipe. My fancy, summer, whatever-berry-filled french dessert will be called clafouti, so there.

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Baked Apple Galette

I have some Mutzu apples from a recent trip to the farmers’ market. These apples are softball-huge and bright lime green, and immediately caught my attention as I was perusing the Migliorelli Farm stand. They are such gorgeous specimens it seemed blasphemous to peel them and cut them up into chunks—or toss them with a lot of sugar and seasoning.

This recipe is sort of a cross between an apple dumpling, rugelach, galette, with probably a little hamentashen thrown in there too. I love that it really just puts this outstanding apple on a pedestal (or buttery crust), to enjoy almost bare naked. It is simple and rustic, and great by itself—but even better with a scoop of my husband’s homemade vanilla ice cream.


	BAKED APPLE GALETTES By Catie Serves 4 For the crust: 2 cups AP flour 2 TBS sugar ¼ tsp salt 4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed 1 large egg, mixed with 1 TBS cold water additional cold water as needed For the filling: 2 large baking apples, cut in half lengthwise and cored 2 TBS dried currents or raisins 2 TBS calvados, brandy, eau-de-vie, or hot water 2 TBS pecans, toasted and finely chopped 2 TBS sugar ¼ tsp ground cinnamon Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat, parchment paper, or lightly butter. Put currents and brandy in a small bowl to soak for at least 10 minutes. Add dry ingredients to food processor, and pulse to combine. Add butter cubes to processor, and pulse until rough and crumbly, but uniform in texture, like coarse sand. Add egg mixed with water, pulse to combine. If needed, add cold water, a few drops at a time, just until dough comes together in a ball. Remove from food processor, knead just a few times by hand to make sure the dough is combined throughout. Section into four pieces, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Mix pecans sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and drained currents gently together. Roll out one of the balls of dough to 2” wider in diameter than the apple half. Transfer dough to baking sheet. Spoon ¼ of the pecan-current mixture in the center of the dough. Place one half of an apple, cut side down, on the mixture. Gently fold the edge of the dough, overlapping itself in several places up and around the apple. Repeat for remaining 3 galettes. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°F and continue to bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Rotate baking sheet once during baking.

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Catie Baumer Schwalb is a chef, food writer and photographer, who splits her life between the city and the country. Not too long ago Catie was a New York City based actress and playwright for more than a decade. She has her Master of Fine Arts from the National Theater Conservatory, and her Grand Diplôme in classic culinary arts from the French Culinary Institute in New York City. ... Read More ≫

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