The great French classic, clafoutis, is a baked dessert of fruit, arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. It is easy to make, and it is simply irresistible. The dessert originates from the province of Limousin, and its name comes from the Occitaine, a language spoken in the area, in which clafoutis means the dish the dessert is made in. Traditionally, clafoutis is made with black cherries with the pits in. Nowadays many other kinds of fruits are used, and only traditionalists insist that the dessert made with pitted cherries should be called flognarde.
There are several reasons why cherries with the pits in are preferred. First of all, undamaged fruit doesn’t make the pie soggy; also, the amygdalin in the pits adds a complementary note to the flavour. The only problem is, you need to spit often while eating it.
Nowadays, however, this dessert is also made with pears, plums, blueberries, blackberries, apricots, peaches and apples. You can be creative and use dried fruit such as figs if you want. The batter itself can be flavoured with nutmeg and cinnamon, or a little brandy, cocoa powder and fruit juice. The pie may be sprinkled with crushed walnuts, hazelnuts of pistachios. When the pie is baked, you can sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, and serve it with some ice cream in the summer. In choosing the right size dish, it is important to consider the quantity you want to make. It is recommended to use half a kilogram of fruit, in which case you can use a 26 cm diameter pie pan. The pie can be made in heat resistant soufflé dishes as well for individual servings.
Clafoutis is great because it is easy and fast to make, and it can be low in calories if you modify the ingredients. You can add more fruit, fewer eggs, spelt flour instead of wheat flour, lower fat content milk, rice syrup or some other healthy sweetener, and your reform kitchen pie is ready.
Peach and cheese clafoutis
Ingredients
- 4 very large peaches
- 200 g sweet cheese
- 1 package vanilla sugar
- 125 g cake flour
- 200 ml milk
- 3 eggs
- 100 g sugar
Preparation
Butter the pie dish and place in the peaches cut into eights. Whisk the eggs with the sugar and the flour, add the crushed cheese and the milk. Mix the batter well and pour it onto the fruit. Bake the pie in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius until golden brown.
Fruit clafoutis
Ingredients
- 125 g cake flour
- 3 eggs
- A dash of salt
- 50 g sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
- 200 ml 3.5% milk
- 100 ml 30% whipped cream
- 500 g fruit
Preparation
Butter the pie pan and place a layer of fruits onto the bottom. Mix the flour with the sugars and then add the yolks and the milk. Whisk the egg whites with a hand mixer and add them to the batter, pour the batter onto the top of the fruit and bake the pie in a preheated oven at 185 degrees.