By October in Utah is the reward for August. Everything the summer held back — the clear light, the gold in the cottonwoods, the mornings that are cold enough for sweaters and afternoons warm enough for short sleeves — arrives all at once and lasts for six incomparable weeks. I try to spend at least an hour outside every day in October. It's non-negotiable. You earn October by surviving August and you honor it by actually being in it.
The channel reached 125,000 this week. I've been doing more Q&A in the comments — spending an hour on Tuesdays just answering questions, having conversations. Someone asked why I never share personal things in my videos — no talk of my family, just the cooking. I thought about it and wrote a long reply: that I share the cooking because the cooking is the personal thing. Every recipe I make has a history. Every technique I teach came from somewhere. The food is the autobiography, just organized differently than words.
I made a big apple cake this week — honeycrisp apples, a brown butter batter, cinnamon and cardamom, cream cheese glaze. October cake. The whole house smelled like it for hours. Ethan ate three slices when he got home from school and said, without looking up from his phone, "Mom. This cake." Which is teenager for: this is transcendent and I love you and thank you for making this and I don't know how to say all of that so I'll just say this cake.
I understand teenager.
That apple cake Ethan demolished after school was the reminder I needed that the simplest fall bakes are the ones that hit hardest —rsquo; no elaborate decoration, just the smell of apples and warm spice doing all the work. This Maple-Apple Clafoutis is the recipe I keep coming back to when I want that same effortless, custardy magic without a full afternoon in the kitchen: apples arranged in a pan, a silky batter poured right over the top, and about forty minutes of the oven doing everything else. It’s humble in the way October is humble —rsquo; unpretentious, quietly extraordinary, and better than it has any right to be.
Maple-Apple Clafoutis
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for the pan
- 2 medium apples (such as Honeycrisp or Braeburn), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, divided, plus more for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Rub a 9-inch cast iron skillet or ceramic baking dish generously with the tablespoon of butter.
- Season the apples. In a medium bowl, toss the sliced apples with 2 tablespoons of the maple syrup and the cinnamon until evenly coated. Arrange the apple slices in an even layer across the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Make the batter. In a blender or large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, flour, milk, heavy cream, granulated sugar, remaining 1 tablespoon maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend or whisk vigorously until completely smooth, about 1 minute — no lumps.
- Pour and bake. Slowly pour the batter over the arranged apple slices. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the clafoutis is puffed, deep golden at the edges, and just set in the center with a slight jiggle.
- Rest and finish. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes — it will settle and deflate slightly, which is normal. Dust generously with powdered sugar and drizzle with additional maple syrup just before serving.
- Serve warm. Cut into wedges and serve directly from the pan while still warm. Clafoutis is best the day it’s made, though leftovers reheat beautifully at 325°F for 8 to 10 minutes.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 188 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 26g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 98mg