Clafouti

We just made about our 5th clafouti of the summer when I suddenly realized that I haven’t yet shared this favorite with all of you!  If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating a clafouti it’s kind of a cross between a custard and a cake and is simply delicious.

There are two reasons we love the clafouti so much in our house (besides how fun it is to say!)…the first is because it is one of the fastest and easiest desserts you can possibly make and you often have all of the ingredients in the house, meaning you can even whip it up on a weeknight or if guests surprise you!  The second reason we love it is because the mild vanilla, cinnamon and lemon flavors are so versatile that it works with almost any fruit you have on hand…especially summer fruit like berries, Italian plums, figs or cherries (the traditional fruit of choice).  Versatile, easy and beautiful to serve, what more could you ask for?  Gotta love those French bakers!

Traditionally clafouti is made with cherries (pits in tact to enhance flavor – or so I’m told) and served with just a dusting of powdered sugar, but our favorite is with those small Italian plums and topped with some homemade cinnamon whipped cream.  Our second favorite, shown above is with fresh figs.  Any summer berry will also do. The whipped cream makes it a bit more indulgent but oh so yummy!

My go to recipe for clafouti is this one from allrecipes.com.  I tend to add a bit more cinnamon and lemon zest which is shown in my adapted version below, but the backbone of this recipe is perfect in my opinion so I’ve never used another.

6 tablespoons white sugar, divided
14 Italian prune plums, halved and pitted
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups milk
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 ¾ scant teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pinch salt
¾ scant teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter a 10 inch pie plate, and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over the bottom. Arrange the plum halves (or other fruit), cut side down, so that they cover the entire bottom of the pie plate. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over the top of the plums (or figs shown below).

In a blender, combine the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, eggs, milk, flour, lemon zest, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes. Pour over the fruit in the pan.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and lightly browned. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. Dust with confectioners’ sugar (or serve with whipped cream) before serving.