Apple Flan From Piedmont
Timballo di mele
In this apple flan from Piedmont delicate apple flavours get topped by a crunchy caramel topping.
At this time of year I wrack my recipes for anything apple and came across this timbale in Marcella Hazan’s Marcella Cucina
. It is not unlike my previous apple pudding, but what makes this dessert remarkable is the lack of flour and fat along with the addition of caramel. Classic flavours in a – for me – new disguise, so of course I had to try it.
It won’t be the last time, as it turned out really nice. Especially when left for 24 hours, so that the caramel gets a chance to melt into a sweet sauce.
Ingredients
150 g sugar for the caramel
6-7 apples
150 g sugar
1 tsp cloves
1 cinnamon stick
4 egg whites
Preparation
Heat up a casserole with 150 g sugar and 50 ml water over medium heat. (It takes ages and will bubble and turn to crust before the sugar starts to melt and turn brown)
Pour the liquid caramel in a non-stick baking tin
Meanwhile peel, core and cut the apples and cook them for 20 minutes with sugar, cloves, cinnamon and a little water. Let it cool and remove cloves and cinnamon.
Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.
Fold apples gently into the egg whites
Pour the apple mixture over the caramel and bake in a water bath at 160 C /325 F for 1 hour.
The apple flan should be served cold.
Alternatives to apple flan
Apple Flan with caramel topping after a recipe from Piedmont
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I love the sound of this but what I really love is all your garnishes for the photos. Always very beautiful.
Oh Mette! That sounds fabulous!
Thanks:)
Based on the photo, it looks like you baked this in individual ramekins instead of one larger pan. Did you modify the cooking time to do so? Also, did you release from the ramekins just before serving?
To be quite frank, it has been a while since I made this apple flan, and I don’t remember exactly what I did at the time of the photo, but the topping is a kind of meringue which needs to dry. That takes quite a while in my oven – even in ramekins – so I think the cooking time is correct. The flans were released from the ramekins just before serving – this is easy if you line the ramekin with parchment paper.