What a wonderful way to make a Summer fruit dessert in the middle of Winter. It's no secret that, without exception, I'll always choose to make a fruit dessert over any dessert -- and that causes me problems when lot of my favorite stone fruits and berries are out of season. I'm always hesitant to substitute canned fruit in a recipe that calls for fresh (everyone should be), but, yesterday, on a whim, I decided to give the two 29-ounce cans of sliced peaches in my pantry a try in my clafoutis recipe. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and I gained big time. It is wonderful.
Home- or store-bought- canned peaches make great clafoutis.
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. Once you make one once, you'll make it again and again.
Clafoutis: It's smooth & creamy & not-too-sweet...
... & it's even easier to make than a cobbler, crisp or crumble.
1 1/2-1 3/4 pounds well-drained, canned peaches (from 2, 29-ounce cans store-bought peaches)
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups heavy or whipping cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pure peach extract (Note: I purchase peach extract on-line from www.OliveNation.com. If you are not inclined to do that, substitute an equal amount of peach brandy.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure 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. Drain peaches as thoroughly as possible. My way is: after removing the bulk of liquid, place them on a plate that has been lined with paper towels. If using peach halves, cut them into chunks, if using peach slices, slice the slices in half (I cut the slices with a pair of kitchen shears). Place the peaches in the bottom of an 11" x 7", 1 1/2-quart casserole, NOT a 13" x 9" x 2", 3-quart casserole. Set aside.
~Step 2. 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 3. Slowly drizzle the batter over the peaches, allowing the batter 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 set. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool, 45-60 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp with a dusting of Confectioners' sugar or a dollop of whipped cream.
Read the recipe, place peaches in an 11" x 7", 1 1/2-quart casserole, NOT a 13" x 9", 3-quart casserole:
Slowly drizzle the batter methodically over the peaches:
Bake in 325º oven 40-45 minutes & cool on wire rack 40-45 minutes:
Slice & serve warm or at room temperature:
Just Say Yes to Canned Peaches to Make Clafoutis: Recipe yields 12-14-16 servings.
Special Equipment List: paper towels; kitchen scale; kitchen sheers; 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: 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. For another luscious clafoutis recipe, try my~ Effortlessly-Regal No-Brainer Blackberry Clafoutis ~.
"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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