Clafouti

We made plum clafouti for the class. Smelled amazing, tasted great

Clafouti (pronounced cla-foo-TEE) is a traditional Provencal dessert. It's usually made in the summer when there are wonderful ripe fruits everywhere in Provence. Sour cherries (pie cherries) are traditional but most other soft fruits work just as well. Clafouti is a cross between a cake and a crepe. There isn't a lot of flour in the batter and a lot of eggs. But, it's a whole lot easier to make than most cake and crepes. You mix up the batter, put a layer of fruit in the bottom of a pie plate, pour the batter on top,  and bake.

The amount of sugar here is pretty minimal. French desserts are not nearly as sweet at American desserts. In the class, we tasted the plums and decided they were a bit tart, so we added another tablespoon of sugar. We recommend that you taste your fruit and add a touch more sugar if you think the fruit is tart.

(serves 6-8)

Butter or nonstick cooking spray, for greasing pie plate
2 ½ cups Pitted Cherries, or sliced fruit such as peaches, nectarines, or plums
1 ¼ cups Milk
¼ cup Sugar
3 large Eggs
2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 pinch Salt
½ cup All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoon Sugar
½ teaspoon Cinnamon, optional

Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the center of the oven. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10" pie plate. Whisk together the milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Stir in flour until  smooth. Arrange the fruit in a single layer in the pie plate. Pour the batter over fruit. Combine sugar with cinnamon (if using) and sprinkle on clafouti. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the clafouti is set(see Note), about 30-40 minutes. Best served warm. If you have leftovers or bake in advance, keep in the refrigerator and rewarm in a 200°F oven before serving.

Note: Set means that when you gently shake the pie plate, the center doesn't jiggle and feels firm to the touch.