You are here:

Baked brioche and caramelised apple flan with Calvados sabayon

Michel Lemoine from Great Food Live
If you love good old British bread and butter pudding, try Michel Lemoine's fruity French alternative with va-va-voom from Normandy's apple brandy

Baked brioche and caramelised apple flan with Calvados sabayon

Method

1. To caramelise the apples, melt the butter in a frying pan. Add the sugar and cook until the mixture has turned a golden colour. Add the apples and cook gently until the fruit is tender.

2. To make the flan, preheat the oven to 170C/gas 3. Whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla seeds together in a mixing bowl. Add the milk and cream and mix well.

3. Trim the brioche slices to fit the base of the ramekins and place one brioche disc in each. Divide the apple mixture evenly between the ramekins, spooning it over the brioche. Place the remaining brioche discs over the caramelised apples, pressing them down lightly.

4. Pour in the egg mixture, dividing it evenly among the ramekins, then leave the brioche to soak for about 15 minutes. Add more egg mixture until it is level with the top of the brioche, making sure there is at least 1cm free at the top so the sabayon can be poured over later.

5. Put a kettle of water on to boil. Sit the ramekins in a roasting tin and add enough hot water from the kettle to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Carefully place in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes, or until set.

6. To make the sabayon, put the caster sugar in a saucepan with a little water and cook until the syrup is 121C when measured with a sugar thermometer. Meanwhile, in a large heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks until white and fluffy. Pour the hot cooked boiling sugar syrup over the yolks and whisk until the mixture is completely cold. Fold in the calvados, then fold in the lightly whipped cream.

7. Preheat the grill. Using protective gloves, carefully remove the flans from the oven and from the hot water. Pour the sabayon into the ramekins to fill them, then place under the hot grill until lightly browned and glazed.