Clafoutis is a bit of a mystery. When prepared properly, it is light and appealing, but most often, it takes on a starchy, fleshy texture that is singular—singularly unappealing, that is.

But the French also offer something similar but far better called gâteau invisible, layers of thinly sliced pears or apples barely bound together by custard to make a loaf that, when sliced, looks like a cross-section of Precambrian strata, each thin layer a story unto itself. It is called gâteau invisible, since the ultra-thin layers of fruit almost, but not completely, dissolve into the custard.

This dessert became a social media sensation in Japan, and miso is sometimes added to the custard (Dorie Greenspan once tested a version made with shiro miso that turned a moldy blue color). But we decided to stick with the French version for the sake of tradition.

The charm of this dessert lies in the extreme thinness of the apples. Like a Viennese torte with a dozen or more ultra-thin layers, the sophistication and appeal of this recipe starts with super-thin slices (1⁄16 inch thick), which calls for a mandoline for slicing the fruit, not a knife. We opted for Honeycrisp apples, which have good flavor and a texture that is just right; they cook down but do not entirely lose their shape. (Gala is a decent runner-up.)

The batter is straightforward—flour, eggs, milk, sugar and melted butter—but the layering takes some fiddly attention. Some of the batter is mixed into the apples, and then a half cup of the batter goes into the loaf pan. (We preferred the look of loaf slices, as opposed to a round springform pan.) Then a third of the apples go in and are carefully arranged so the slices touch the sides of the pan. This process is repeated twice, finishing with a small amount of batter as the top layer. It is a tad finicky but worth the effort.

The cake is baked at 375°F for well over an hour—the contents will rise a bit in the pan, and both the top and bottom turn a rich chestnut. A sheet of parchment paper overlapping the long sides of the loaf pan makes it easy to remove the cake, which has to sit on a cooling rack for two hours as it slightly subsides.

The slices can be served as is, or with a bit of whipped cream and/or caramel sauce. Our recipe for caramel sauce is business as usual (sugar, cream and butter), but be sure to let the sugar syrup darken sufficiently to create a slight bitter undertone. Also be careful when adding the heavy cream to the pan—it will bubble furiously.

Christopher Kimball

Christopher Kimball is founder of Milk Street, which produces Milk Street Magazine, Milk Street Television on PBS, and the weekly public radio show Milk Street Radio. He founded Cook’s Magazine in 1980 and was host and executive producer of America’s Test Kitchen until 2016. Kimball is the author of several books, including "The Yellow Farmhouse" and "Fannie’s Last Supper."