The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Don’t forget dessert
Become obsessed with clafoutis, a custardy fruit pancake
This summer, I became obsessed with making cl afou tis—big baked custardy fruit pancakes. If you look up the definition of clafoutis, it is referred to as a tar t or fruit covered with fl an. But, I think the taste and texture is more like a big thick crepe or custardy pancake.
Regardless, they are delicious for breakfast served with maple syrup or for dessert with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Truthfully, it is almost as good the next day sliced and eaten straight from the fridge. My good friend Bob Blumer suggested that I call the recipe “James and the Giant Peach Pancake.”
T he first time I ever had clafoutis, I was living with a French family in the Loire Valley for the purpose of learning to speak French. The family didn’t speak English, so it was the perfect place to practice my French. If I wanted any thing, I had to say it in French. Meals were full of chatter and my brain sometimes hurt from thinking and speaking in a foreign language but the food was the trade-off. It was simple, rustic and good.
One Sunday, the “Mada me” of the family bought fresh cherries at the market, and decided to make the classic “clafout is aux ce rises .” It smelled and looked divine and I couldn’t wait to taste it. It came to the table still a bit warm and she cut big wedges for each of us. I saw a big ripe cherry gleaming up at me and took a big bite. and crunch! I almost broke my tooth in two. No one had bothered to tell me that Madame made her clafoutis in the traditional way without pitting the cherries. Literally, the pitfall of rustic country cooking. Nonetheless, I fell in love with clafoutis.
This is a versatile recipe and can be tailored to whatever summer fruit you have on hand. My favorite combination is fresh peaches and orange zest but blueberries and lemon zest is like a big fat scrumptious blueberry pancake.
T hat first bite taught me to inquire about pits from then on, a nd of course, I pit my cherries if I use cherries in my clafoutis. This summer I have been adding a handful of fresh pitted cherries to my peach clafoutis instead of using all cherries, and I have loved the result.
The cu star dy batter is like a crepe. And, like my crepe batter, I love putting everything in a blender and blending away. I also have found that you can make the batter in advance, leave it in the blender container — a to-go smoothie cup from your blender set is the perfect size. I add citrus zest, vanilla extract and a bit of cognac to the batter to deep en the flavor and make it a little more complex. My no-nonsense French country Madame probably wouldn’t ap - prove of the fancy touches to her simple dessert but the extra flavors( and pit- ting the cherries) makes a world of difference.
About an hour before dinner, you can melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a deep-dish pie pan, arrange your fruit in the hot butter i n the bottom of the pan. Re-mix the batter in the blender cup for a few seconds and pour over the fruit. In 4050 minutes, your clafoutis will be ready to come out of the oven. Let it rest at least 15-20 minutes or up to 2 hours before slicing. Other w ise, the custard is too hot and too loose to cut. I let mine cool on a rack so the air will ro- tate around the pie pan. Serve with maple syrup or a dusting of powdered sugar.
This is a versatile recipe and can be tailored to whatever summer fruit you have on hand. My favorite combination is fresh peaches and orange zest but blueberries and lemon zest is like a big fat scrumptious blueberry pancake.