FRENCH, SWEET TREATS & DESSERTS
APPLE & CARAMEL FLAMUSSE (BURGUNDIAN APPLE FLAN)
Ever heard of flamusse? Me neither, until recently when researching recipes from the Burgundy region. And what a great discovery! Less popular than its cousin, the clafoutis, a flamusse is usually made with apples and is a lovely and delicately sweet dessert. On top of that it’s quick and easy to make, and is quite light which means it works well at the end of a meal.
Ingredients
3–4 Granny Smith Apples, depending on size
65g Flour
½ tsp Cinnamon Powder
75g Golden Caster Sugar
1 Pinch of Salt
3 eggs
25ml Milk
25ml Double Cream
85g Unsalted Butter
65g Light Soft Brown Sugar
METHOD
- Butter and line with parchment paper a cake tin of about 26cm in diameter.
- Prepare your apples by peeling them. Then, cut in half, remove the core, and with the flat side down, cut up in half a centimeter thick slices.
TIP – I personally kept the shape of the apples halves when placing them in the pan in order to transfer them more easily and create a pretty pattern in the cake tin later on.
- Place the sliced apple halves in a saucepan, over medium heat, add the butter cut in cubes over the apples. Once the butter has melted and the apples have softened a little, add a tablespoon of the light soft brown sugar, until the liquid in the pan caramelises slightly (no need to stir).
- Remove the saucepan from the heat (and reserve it for later) and place the apples in the tin. To create a nice pattern I arranged the sliced up apple halves (flat side down) in the tin, and gently pressed on them so that they fan out to cover the surface of the tin.
- Preheat your oven to 180˚C/ 160˚C fan oven.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, golden caster sugar, cinnamon and salt. Beat a little to ensure there are no lumps, then make a well in the center. Add the eggs into the well and whisk until combined and smooth
- Gradually add in the milk and creme, whisking continuously until well incorporated.
- Gently pour the mixture over the apples in the tin and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until golden brown. The flamusse should have risen, and will deflate back down gradually once out of the oven.
- In the meantime, go back to your pan in which you cooked the apples, which should have butter remaining. Place over medium heat and add in the light soft brown sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat a little and bring to a light boil. Cook further without stirring too much for about 2 minutes, or until the toffee has thickened, and the bubbles are slower to pop. Add to a bowl and serve with your flamusse.
TIP – Due to the pectin in the apple, the caramel may gelify a little whilst cooling. If this is the case, just loosen it up by adding a little water.
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