I'm continually astonished by how many cooks have no idea what clafoutis is, or, assume from its name that it's hard to make. If I were to write The Big Book of No-Brainer Desserts, clafoutis would be on the cover. Whisk up a simple batter (eggs, cream or milk, sugar, salt, flour, melted butter and brandy or extract), pour it over some fresh fruit and bake. Cherries are the classic addition, with any type of berries, combination of berries, or tender stone fruit like apricots, plums and peaches being common substitutions. Currently, I'm secretly addicted to the one-pound boxes of giant-sized Driscoll's blackberries we've been purchasing at our local Sam's Club. I eat a box every week -- every time I open the refrigerator, five or six of come out with me.
Perfect for Valentine's Day, or any occasion you can name...
... and even easier to make than a cobbler, crisp or crumble...
A bit about clafoutis (kla-foo-tee): Hailing from the Limousin region in Central Southern France, this country-style dessert is made with unpitted black cherries -- which lend a slight almond flavor to the dessert. The name is derived from the verb "clafir", which means "to fill" (the thick, flan-like batter with cherries). Purists will tell you that if made with anything other than black cherries, the name of the dessert changes to "flaugnarde" (which, to me, sounds like a derogatory term for a clafoutis that got thrown under the bus).
After baking, clafoutis is usually served warm with a dusting of Confectioners' sugar or a dollop of freshly-whipped cream. Depending who's making it, where and what recipe, a clafoutis can have a cake-like texture, but French farm-kitchen versions, which are the most luxurious, are typically pudding-like. In either case, it's an impressive dessert that can be successfully made by novice cooks.
... clafoutis is my secret-weapon year-round fruit dessert.
1 1/2-2 pounds fresh (not frozen), ripe (not over-ripe) whole blackberries
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups heavy or whipping cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pure blackberry extract (Note: I purchase blackberry extract on-line from www.OliveNation.com. If you are not inclined to do that, substitute an equal amount of blackberry brandy.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon oure almond extract (almond extract is common to all clafoutis recipes)
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unbleached, all-purpose flour (10 tablespoons)
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled
Confectioners' sugar and/or freshly whipped cream, for garnish and topping
~Step 1. Melt butter and set aside to cool slightly. In a 1-quart measuring container, place eggs, cream, sugar, extracts, flour and salt. Using a hand-held rotary mixer, whisk the mixture until smooth, about 1 minute. Drizzle in the butter and whisk again, until butter is incorporated.
~Step 2. Gently place the delicate blackberries in an 11" x 7", 1 1/2-quart casserole, NOT a 13" x 9" x 2", 3-quart casserole, then drizzle the batter slowly and evenly over the blackberries, allowing it plenty of time to seep down through all the cracks and crevices. Bake on center rack of 325º oven 40-45 minutes, or until puffed up to center, lightly-browned and just set. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool, 45-60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Read the recipe, don't be fooled by a photo: this is an 11" x 7", 1 1/2-quart casserole, NOT, a 13" x 9", 3-quart casserole!
Bake in a 325º oven, 40-45 minutes or until just set.
Cool 45-60 minutes, slice & serve warm (or at room temp)...
... dusted w/Confectioners' sugar or whipped cream:
Effortlessly-Regal No-Brainer Blackberry Clafoutis: Recipe yields 12-14-16 servings.
Special Equipment List: 1-cup measuring container; 1-quart measuring container; hand-held rotary mixer, or, hand-held electric mixer; 1 1/2-quart casserole, NOT, a 3-quart casserole, preferably ceramic; wire cooling rack
Cook's Note: Here today, gone today. That's the lifespan of blackberries entering my kitchen. I've been told their dark color makes them really good for me -- even more antioxidants than blueberries. Rah-rah-sis-boom-bah, I'd eat them even if they were on on the not-so-good-for-me foods short list. When I buy a box of blackberries, I eat a box of blackberries. When I pick blackberries, they disappear on the walk to my door. I do not share blackberries -- perhaps I would, but, I've yet to be tested on this point. ~ Have a Very-Berry Blackberry-Cobbler Kind of Day ~!
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2019)
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