At home with a minor bout of flu: apple charlotte

The swine flu season may have blown over, winter may be on its last legs, and here I seemed to breeze through it, were it not for that little flu bug that finally did catch up with me. First giveaway: not wanting coffee in the morning. Second giveaway: throat and a severe cough.

For a situation veering towards bed my favorite resources are linden tea, and buttered crackers with honey, and if I ever may, a honey. But my slightly fevered brain was prone to some strange dietary choices. Some energy may be derived from a slice of apple charlotte, but perhaps not the best kind. And the Sugar Rant was Off. Third giveaway.

Apple charlotte

Serves 4
From Françoise Bernard and her zillion adventures in French cooking.

1 kg of sour apples (e.g. renet - I used a mixture of boskoop and granny smith)
50 g butter
150 g sugar (*) (or 9 tablespoons)
100 g raisins
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

(*) Note: my quantities were slightly off. I had a small yellow baking tin which fitted 500 g apple slices, 50 g butter, 96 g sugar, and 70 g of raisins and dried cranberries. I used dark brown muscovado sugar.

Preheat the oven at 200 °C.

Slice the apples in thin slices.

Butter a high baking tin with 1/3 of the butter, coat with 1/3 apple, 1/3 sugar, and 1/3 butter, then add a new layer of apple, etcetera, until the tin is full, and end with sugar, butter and cinnamon (if you forget to add it sooner).

Press the mixture firmly.

Bake in the oven for 75 minutes with baking foil or a lid over the tin.

Let cool completely before serving.