Berry Clafoutis
I’ve had Clafoutis on my long list of “baking to-do’s” for over a year, so when I received a beautiful batch of blueberries and cream in a recent grocery delivery it seemed like the right time play at French chef-ing. Though Clafoutis is traditionally made with cherries (pits and all), the smooth, lightly lemony custard marries well with a variety of fruits. You could try it with peaches, apricots, plums, figs, or berries (my favorite). All this is to say, feel free to use your favorite just make sure the fruit is sweet and fresh since it’s the dominant flavor of this dish.
Clafoutis is one of those desserts that you could serve as the finale to a casual dinner party or as a simple-yet-impressive brunch treat. When I was in Paris years ago with a girlfriend, we mostly grabbed a to-go breakfast of pain au chocolat and café au lait before heading out to explore, but the first morning there we had a lovely (and expensive) sit down breakfast of pastries and mixed berry Clafoutis. A decadent way to start a vacation!
Clafoutis requires no fancy equipment or elaborate techniques and lends itself well to some basic substitutions. I used whole milk yogurt rather than whole milk in the custard base because I keep that in the house more than I do milk and I like the light tang it adds to the custard. And since all-purpose flour is a scarce commodity these days, I substituted half of the usual amount with chick pea flour to conserve. Chick pea flour is a good option because it’s creamy texture blends nicely with the custard. I’ve indicated a few substitution options below. Don’t skip the lemon though! It adds such a nice flavor to the custard.
Berry Clafoutis Recipe
Difficulty:
Easy
Yield:
1, 9-inch dessert, serves 8-12
Ingredients:
35 grams all-purpose flour
35 grams chick pea flour*
⅛ tsp (just a pinch) kosher salt
3 large eggs
100 grams granulated sugar
¾ tsp lemon oil or 1 TBSP lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup whole milk yogurt (not Greek yogurt) or whole milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 - 1½ cups fresh blueberries or other berries, washed and patted dry.
2 TBSP powdered sugar to serve
*Chick pea flour has a nice creaminess to it, but feel free to use 35 grams all-purpose flour in place of it for a total of 70 grams in the whole recipe.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350° F and butter a 9-inch pie plate, cast iron pan, or baking dish of equivalent size.
Tip: The batter will puff up when baked so make sure there’s room in your chosen dish for this to happen.
Whisk together the flours and salt. Set aside.
In a medium size bowl, thoroughly whisk together eggs and sugar. About 2-3 minutes. The eggs and sugar should be well blended. Whisk in vanilla and lemon oil (or lemon zest).
Gradually whisk the flours into to the egg mixture a little at time until the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps.
Tip: Adding the flour slowly makes it easier to combine the ingredients and avoid a lumpy batter. No one wants a lump of flour in their custard!
Combine yogurt, heavy cream, and melted butter then whisk into the batter until completely smooth.
Pour batter into buttered baking dish.
Tip: It can be challenging to carry a full dish of batter to the oven without it sloshing around, so if possible, fill the dish somewhere near the oven. Open the oven door, then lift the full baking dish off the counter and carefully place inside.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until puffed with golden brown edges and the top is beginning to brown.
Let cool at least 25 minutes in the baking dish so the custard has time to set before slicing. Some of the puffiness will fall as it cools. This is expected.
Clafoutis is puffy when it comes out of the oven but falls a bit as it cools. This is expected and part of it’s charm.
To serve
Slice into wedges and sift powdered sugar over top. Or if serving the whole clafoutis at once, you can sprinkle the sugar over the baking dish before you slice.
Tip: First cutting 3 slices in the pie dish before removing one helps avoid the initial broken piece. Remove the middle slice first.
