Clafoutis is a very traditional French fruit dessert, one that falls
somewhere between cake and custard. I’ve made – and eaten — them for
years, but never had one as delicious as the one Paul Virant served at
Prairie Fruits Farm last year. His secret is the almond flour; most
versions only contain wheat flour. Sweet cherries are most commonly used
in clafoutis, but other fruits are used as well. Virant used a mixture
of blackberries and raspberries grown on site for the Prairie Fruits
dinner. I’ve been longing since last fall for this year’s berry season
to begin so that I can make it again.
- Unsalted butter, for greasing the dish
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 vanilla beans
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 6 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour (6 ounces)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pound berries: blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries (halved or quartered if large) OR substitute sweet cherries, pitted and halved
Preheat the oven to 325°. Butter a 10-by-15-inch baking dish
and sprinkle it with sugar. Split the vanilla beans in half lengthwise
and scrape out the seeds with the tip of a sharp knife. Put the ½ cup
sugar in a large bowl or bowl of an electric mixer and add the vanilla
seed scrapings. Rub them into the sugar until no clumps of seeds remain.
Add the heavy cream, eggs, almond flour, and all-purpose flour and mix
with an electric mixer at low speed until the batter is blended.
Scatter
the berries or cherries in the prepared baking dish; pour the batter on
top. Bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the
center comes out clean. Let the clafoutis cool slightly before serving.
This article appears in Mar 25-31, 2010.
