What the heck is Claufotis?
Clafoutis is a fancy French dessert that is easy to assemble. That’s what it is! It is much like a tarte or a custard with fresh and in-season fruit. Historically, Clafoutis is with fresh cherries but today we are going to use berries. Yay!
This recipe was surprisingly easy and cheap to make, it’s more about technique. I LOVE French recipes, as most do, for the simplicity, charm, and decadent ways they do things. It always shocks me to see how few ingredients they use, but are able to reinvent with technique. That, I believe, is what is so impressive about French cuisine.
Franny’s Take.
Originally, I thought this was a breakfast. Silly Franny 👀. I was shocked at how sweet it was for breakfast, soon realizing, well that’s why it is a dessert (lol). I’m not a huge fan of it being so sweet, so I decreased the normal amount of sugar. I even tried to do it SUGAR-FREE and was NOT impressed. Hardly am I ever impressed with sugar-free items. I also tried to use frozen fruits, ehhh… I don’t recommend either. This is a dish you can switch up the fruit (don’t tell the French that) and enjoy that true to the season taste.
Also, blending this recipe takes 5 minutes. Cooking takes an HOUR. So what I like to do is throw this together before cooking dinner and it not only will be done and cooled (READY TO IMPRESS THE IN-LAWS).
Here is how it is done.
Preheat oven 350. Butter the pie dish.
Start with the eggs, milk, sugar, and almond extract. Whisk well until you get a creamy look. You’ll want to use your hand because blenders will cause this to ‘OVER BEAT’ and cause your Clafoutis to be RUBBERY. Then take your 1/2 cup of flour and pinch of salt, and slowly integrate the flour into the egg mix. Whip until fully integrated and there are no chunks BUT DON’T JUST KEEP WHISKING. Stop and see if see if it’s combined occasionally. You’ll whisk for less than 1 minute.
If you are using cherries for this recipe (which is also SO delicious), I advise fresh cherries (not optional, need fresh cherries) using a pitter makes it easier.
Put the 3 cups of fruit in the pie dish. Pour the batter into the dish. VOILA! Easy peasy. Just cook for an hour and it comes out beautiful.
VOILA!
Dip a knife through the center and make sure it’s done. It has the consistency of a flan, a custard, or a tarte.
NOTES:
- It will need about 10 minutes to settle. When it does, it WILL crack. Those cracks are amazing! Enjoy warm, room temperature, or cold. You can even cool it and put in the refrigerator (with plastic) overnight.
2. Traditionally is sifted with powdered sugar.
3. A dollop of whipped cream would set it off!
It is such a pretty dessert, set to impress. I hope y’all enjoy it as much as we do!
With love and yumminess,
French Franny Pants
Have you checked out the chocolate almond raspberry trifle? I think you’ll love it. A great summer treat that can feed the whole crowd.
Clafoutis
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 whisk
- 1 pie pan (I used my cast iron pie pan cause I love it)
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 ¼ cup whole milk
- ½ tbsp almond extract
- 3 cups berries (or classically cherries)
- ½ cup flour
- dash salt (1/4th tsp)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter your pie pan liberally.
- In a mixing bowl, mix eggs, sugar, milk, and almond. Whisk well.
- While whisking, slowly add the flour and salt. Whisk until a creamy thick mix.
- Put cherries or berries into the buttered pan. Pour mix over them.
- Cook for 60 minutes until a knife comes clean from the center. Cool for 10 minutes.
- Note: while cooling, it will crack at the top. This is normal and delicious. Add whipping cream or powdered sugar. Enjoy! (Your mother-in-law now thinks you can really cook 😉)
Love it!! Sounds like a medical term 😉
Haha it does! I can hear it now, “the clafoutis is infected. We must cut it off.” And we all nod. 😂