I hardly expected such a gourmet French dessert to come from a small, tattered booklet called “Grandma’s Cooking.” Cherry Pie, Blueberry Cobbler or Apple Brown Betty, perhaps. But not something called Clafoutis. (Pronounced “Claw-foo-TEE”). Never did I expect a few simple ingredients would produce such a rich, delicate baked dessert that is now one of my very favorite go-to recipes. (To think that I found Grandma’s Cooking at a thrift store for a buck!) Yes, it’s hot outside, and we don’t want anything heavy for dessert. Clafoutis is the answer! This simple treat begins with fresh fruit topped with a very basic combination of eggs, cream and sugar with a slight amount of flour and lemon juice. It’s a bit of a cross between cake, pudding and flan, and it’s remarkably delicious and light! Clafoutis, a local favorite dessert from the Limousin region of France, is traditionally made with black cherries. But most fruits in season, like plums, pears, apples and berries work just as well. This week blackberries were large and sweet, so that’s what I used. What I love about Clafoutis is that it is pretty much foolproof. Spread the fresh fruit on the bottom of an oven proof dish, pour the egg and cream mixture over the top and bake. That’s it. When done, Clafoutis get sprinkled with a light mist of powdered sugar and served warm, room temperature of cooled with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! Wow! What a winner. So here you go. From the area of France that gave us the world-renowned Limoges porcelain, I give you another regional treasure, Clafoutis!
| Servings |
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2 pints of fresh ripe blackberries (3 if smaller carton size)
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 large whole egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup cream
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice (about ½ large lemon)
- pinch of salt
- powdered sugar for topping
Ingredients
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- Butter the bottom of a 9-inch oven safe tart, flan or pie dish. Arrange blackberries evenly over butter. Using an electric mixer, combine egg yolks, whole egg and sugar. Beat until light and creamy. Add cream, flour, lemon juice and pinch of salt, and blend well. Pour mixture over blackberries and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and toothpick comes up clean. When cooled, sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. Serve alone, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
