Clafoutis is one of the most versatile French desserts and finds its origins in the Limousin, a lush, green region situated in the heart of the Massif Central. If you’ve never made or tasted clafoutis before, think of it as a ‘custardy’ type of cake. It doesn’t call for that much flour, so there isn’t much of a crumb to the dessert. I guess you can also compare it to a crustless quiche.
Besides the original cherry clafoutis, I have made clafoutis with strawberries, blueberries, plums, apricots and even vegetables for a savoury variation (perfect for lunch with a green salad) and a glass of wine. This variation calls for apples. For a tart touch, I added a small handful of plump blackberries.
Ingredients: Serves 4-6
400g apples (I used Granny Smith)
125g blackberries
250g crème fraîche
50ml whole milk
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod
3 eggs
100g all-purpose flour
60g fine sugar
1 tbsp brown rum
Powdered sugar, to serve
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a rectangular baking dish of approx. 26 x 18.5cm with butter.
Peel, core and chop the apples. Spread them over the baking dish together with the blackberries.
In a large bowl, whisk the crème fraîche, milk and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, flour, sugar and rum. Add this mixture to the cream, eggs and vanilla and whisk well.
Pour the custard over the fruit and bake the clafoutis for 35-40 minutes.
Delicious warm or cold. You can dust it with powdered sugar or serve with ice cream for a more decadent dessert.
Paola Westbeek is a food, wine and travel journalist. For more of her recipes, visit ladoucevie.eu, thefrenchlife.org and her YouTube channel, LaDouceVieFood
