In case you weren't sure, fall is here. And fall means apples. Apples of all shapes and sizes and colors...my tastebuds are singing just thinking about it.
When I was younger, we went apple picking to celebrate the end of summer, the start of apple season, and just to get outside and enjoy the air and sun. I was so overjoyed then, when, during my senior year of college, I went with a group of students (cheers alliance française!) to indulge in that again: roaming between the trees, looking for apples to pick, breathing fresh air and enjoying the company of friends.
But I never knew what to do with my apples, beyond just eat them. There has only been one true apple pie recipe that I ever liked and so I would munch munch munch to my heart's content, or at least until the apples ran out.
This however, was all before I came to pastry school. A few weeks ago, when we were wrapping up our plated desserts unit, we made a warm apple charlotte, and I fell in love. We had been tasting individual desserts for weeks but this was the first one I gobbled up; it was that good.
A charlotte is loosely defined as a molded dessert. From there, a lot of varieties exist, but I'll spare you the lecture. This charlotte was made in a cupcake pan with a basic apple compote, and toast-you can't get much simpler than that.
Biting into it, I felt like I was home. It was warm and sweet, and all around comforting.
Later this week, I'm going to don the hat of the baking babysitter and teach my girls how to make this, but I'm too eager to wait to share it with you.
Instead of giving you a traditional recipe though, I'm going to walk you through the steps. The trick of a compote is that...you don't really need a recipe-it's all to your liking, and because of that, it feels funny that such a basic pastry staple is so...imprecise and free.
You will need:
Apples
Sugar
Water
Bread
Clarified butter (more on that later)
Optional:
Additional spices/flavor: the recipe we used at school called for calvados, or apple brandy. In the past, I've used some vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves, but it's up to you/what you have in your cupboard.
Equipment:
Knife
Cutting board
Vegetable peeler
Apple corer or melon baller
Pastry brush
Pot
Parchment paper
Cupcake tin
Sheet pan
Procedure:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Peel, halve and core your apples. Cut them however you'd like- in thin wedges, tiny cubes-just keep the shape uniform, so that the apples cook at the same rate. How many apples do you need? I'd say go for 3, to make enough for 6 of these. If you're concerned, make more. There is nothing wrong with having apple compote leftovers!
2. Place apples in the pot, with a little bit of water-you don't want the apples swimming, but if you add too much water, it's ok-you can fix it later. Add your sugar and flavorings to the water and apples. Again, how much sugar? Go with... 1/4 cup. Less is more, since there is natural sugar in your apples, but again-feel free to experiment. Cover with the parchment paper, which should be cut to act as a lid (just a circle shape that can fit inside the pot) with a hole in the center for steam to escape through. Make sure the parchment paper is pushed down to be directly on top of the apples, not just hanging out in midair. Place over medium heat.
3. Let the apples cook. Check them to make sure you haven't made applesauce, and to see that the liquid has evaporated. This compote will be done when the apples become translucent, but can still hold their shape, in that they won't turn to applesauce mush when you go to taste them. If you feel like your apples are done but that there is too much liquid left, take the parchment paper lid off and let the water evaporate out.
4. While you are letting your apple compote cook and then cool, prepare your charlotte molds. Make the clarified butter by taking unsalted butter (let's say two sticks: it will be too much, but clarified butter is definitely a good thing to have in your fridge), and placing it in another pot, and bring it to a boil. From there, pour it into a clear heat safe container, and let the milk solids settle to the bottom. You can really use any heat safe container, but with a clear one you can see the milk solids settle.
5. Cut your bread so that for each cupcake mold, you have two circles (about the size of the bottom of the mold) and a strip of bread to go around the sides of the mold. The width of the strip depends on the depth of your cupcake tin. Using the pastry brush, brush each piece with the clarified butter, and line each cupcake mold with the bread, in the following order: circle at the bottom, strip around the sides, apple compote in the center, circle on top. Make sure to fit the last circle snugly inside the ring of bread around the sides.
6. Bake the apple charlottes in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. The bread should begin to brown-imagine the perfect piece of toast. About halfway through, or whenever you start to see the bread brown, you can unmold the charlottes onto a parchment paper lined sheet pan, and continue to let them toast up. Serve warm, and enjoy!
