Clafouti  is a simple batter dessert that originated in France and is traditionally a sweet batter over black cherries and served with cream. When I first saw this elegant dessert, I realized that it is almost exactly like the pancake mix that I make – eggs, sugar, flour and milk but with slightly more flour to make it rise, and more sugar for sweetness. I have also made this with 2% milk and a mix of 2% plus whipping cream which makes that batter very rich.

The traditional clafouti recipe uses black cherries which are usually available in summer but almost any fruit can be used. I prefer the look of dark colored blueberries or raspberries with the pale batter and I don’t use strawberries often because they go mushy and discolored when baked. Prepare the fruit as you would for any dessert by washing and removing any pips. Chop larger fruit such as peaches to smaller pieces. Note that the traditional French version does not remove the pips from the cherries but I do not notice any discoloration in the batter by removing them.

Clafouti

Ingredients

1 +  cups prepared fruit

I cup flour

3 eggs

½ cup sugar

1 cup milk or 2/3 cup milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tbs butter – melted

Few drops vanilla (or lemon)

Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

To Make Clafouti

1: In a blender, mix flour, eggs, sugar, flavoring and milk;*

2: Add the melted butter;

3: Butter an 8 or 9”,  deep, ovenproof dish;

4: Add about 1/3 of the batter and bake for 10 minutes in 350⁰oven until set**;

5: Remove and add the fruit to the set base;

6: Add the rest of the batter;

7: Cook for about 25 minutes in 350⁰ oven until slightly browned and risen;

8: Dust lightly with powdered sugar (optional)

9: Serve immediately before the batter sinks.

The fruit on a base of set batter

This clafouti shows the strawberries do soften and discolor in this dish.

* The batter should be ‘syrup’ thick such as you make for a pancake. If the batter is too thick add a little more milk.

** the batter for this is very quick to make and if you are tight for time, add the fruit to the buttered dish and cover with all the batter – this doesn’t destroy the dessert at all but  the fruit is distributed throughout the whole batter without a base so looks slightly different.