Lordy! Lordy! Apple Confit "Cake"

Rainey · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 5:36 pm Post subject: Lordy! Lordy! Apple Confit "Cake"

Here's another one from today's LA Times Food Section that I can't try so someone will have to do it for me. It looks just wonderful! It comes from a new cookbook by Ludo Lefebvre. The book is called Crave. His LA restaurant is called Bastide.

Note that although he calls it "cake" and it may resemble a cake, it's purely fruit confit in a caramel syrup. And that's why I can't have it. Evil or Very Mad

If you feel like registering with the Times you can see it in the Food Section in the article called "Honest, We Got It for the Recipes". I tried to link it for you but I get the hard copy so I'm not interested in registering for the junk e-mail...

Cake of Apple Confit
Total time: About 7 1/2 hours (including 5 hours baking time), plus several hours chilling time
Servings: 12

Zest Confit
2 oranges
2 lemons
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel and white pith from the oranges, lemons and grapefruit. Using a small, sharp knife, trim away all the pith from the peel. Cut the peel into julienne strips (makes about 1 1/2 cups total). Place them in a small saucepan of water.

Bring the water to a boil. Drain. Rinse the peel under cold water. Repeat this process once.

Combine the peel, the 1 1/4 cups of water and sugar in the same pan. Simmer gently over medium-low heat until the juices evaporate and the strips become translucent, about 45 minutes. Set aside.

Apple Cake
oil
2 cups sugar, divided
3 tablespoons water
15 Granny Smith apples (about 8 1/2 lb.), peeled and cored
Zest Confit
Crème Fraîche

Heat the oven to 250 degrees F. Oil a 3-quart (8 x 4 1/2") charlotte mold.

Combine 1 cup of the sugar and the water in a heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until the sugar dissolves. Boil without stirring over medium heat, until the syrup turns a deep amber brown and just begins to smoke, occasionally brushing down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush and swirling the pan, about 8 min.

Carefully pour the caramel into the charlotte mold. Using oven mitts, swirl the mold to coat the interior completely with the caramel (the caramel will stick to the pan as it cools). Refrigerate until the caramel is cold and set.

Using a mandoline, cut the apples crosswise into 1/8" thick slices. Arrange enough apple slices to cover the bottom of the charlotte mold, overlapping slightly and in concentric circles, to create 1 layer. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 tablespoon zest confit over the layer of apples. Repeat layering all of the apple slices with the sugar and zest confit, alternating the direction of the concentric circles to increase the stability of the cake, pressing to compact the layers, and creating about 20 layers. Cover with aluminum foil.

Place the charlotte mold in a deep roasting pan. Fill the pan with enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of the mold. Bake until a skewer inserted near the center of the apples does not meet resisitance, about 5 hours. Refrigerate until cold, several hours or overnight.

Remove the foil. Place the mold in a sauté pan of simmering water to melt the caramel coating slightly and help loosen the apple cake, about 3 minutes. Place a platter on top of the mold. Holding the mold with one hand and the platter with the other, invert the mold onto the platter. Remove the mold.

Cut the apple cake into 12 wedges and tranfer to dessert plates. Drizzle with juices from the cake and serve with crème fraîche.

Each serving (without crème fraîche):
300 calories
1 gram protein
79 grams carbohydrate
5 grams fiber
0.4 grams fat
0 grams saturated fat
0 mg. cholesterol
1 mg. sodium

Erin · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:09 pm Post subject:

Is it the fruit or the caramel? Because if it is the caramel, I may have just the thing for you.
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

Crow4ever · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 7:10 pm Post subject:

Rainey,

This recipe is similar to an "Apple Gâteau" Ann Willan made on Martha Stewart's TV show in 2000. We loved that cake, so I am most definitely going to try the recipe you have posted.

We have some friends coming for coffee Sunday afternoon, and the "Cake of Apple Confit" will be yummy to munch on while we sip and gossip!

Thanks for posting the recipe!

Sandra

Rainey · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 8:16 pm Post subject:

Judy · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:51 pm Post subject:

Here's the link, although I think you would still have to register to access it...

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-watch13apr13,1,6645663.story?coll=la-headlines-food

Erin · Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 12:36 pm Post subject:

Rainey,

I have made the apple gateau as C4E mentioned above, which is served with a caramel not cooked with it. I have a mountain of apples in my kitchen right now and plan to do some experimenting today with Splenda............hmmmm. I will let you know what I come up with, you deserve this yummy dessert!
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

clotilde · Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 2:18 pm Post subject:

This looks fabulous Rainey, thanks for posting! Apples and caramel, what else could one need?

Erin · Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:29 pm Post subject:

First idea, not so good. Second idea, promising on paper. Update tomorrow.
_________________
"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

"It's hot ham water."

Rainey · Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:24 pm Post subject:

clotilde- I can't tell you how happy it makes me to contribute when I've enjoyed your work so much!

Meanwhile, something about this "cake" makes me think of your apple tart with the pistachio crust. I think the addition of something crunchy could make this the perfect food and a little wafer of burnt sugar embedded with chopped pistachio might be just the thing. What do you think?