RECIPE: Simple Clafoutis

I was inspired to try to make a clafoutis from this thread.   Like many things, I had never eaten one and I am not sure I know how to pronounce it. I was not able to find the recipe here on permies so I looked on the internet to find a recipe that I thought had the ingredients that I have available.  I found one and since then I have fixed this many times.  I made some changes to make this easy to remember so I am not sure what the original recipes was.

I have not made this using a pie crust so if you plan this with a crust, then making your pie crust first would seem like the thing to do, then bake the crust.

Simple Clafoutis

3 to 4 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoon butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 cups fruit, this can be fresh, frozen or canned, drained
1 pie crust (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Blend melted butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Add milk, flour, and eggs until mixed.

Arrange desired fruit in a pretty design in a greased pie pan or on top of your baked crust.  Pour egg mixture over the fruit. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes until brown, center is set and puffy. The Clafoutis will deflate as it cools.

This is still my favorite recipe, one reason being that it is simple yet elegant!

My favorite is with cherry pie filling




Put into a muffin pan for tarts:




Apricots




Using pears can make it very pretty

This looks really good...and super simple! I can imagine whipping one of these up with whatever odd fruit I have lying around after canning.

Is the texture something like a souffle or a custard? Or is it more cake-like?

You've inspired me! I am making this right now with fresh rhubarb, vanilla, and nutmeg.
Actually I've already assembled it, It's in the oven now.

L Allen, it is very similar to a custard pie, maybe a little stiffer.

Chris, did you like it as much as I do?

I made one too; I couldn't resist. I used blueberries (frozen from earlier in the year) and blackberries (fresh) and the zest from half an orange I had left over from breakfast. No crust for mine, either. Making it required all of five minutes and one bowl. :-)

It's really good. Mine's a little stiffer than custard pie, but that's a good comparison.

I took this picture before it fell completely, but half an hour later, it's half-devoured and not anything like as pretty. My hubby says it would be great with whipped cream...but he'll eat whipped cream on almost anything, so your mileage may vary.

I'm totally putting this recipe in the rotation. Thanks!

Well, Anne, and L Allen... I am obviously not the bakers you are.

This looks wonderful!  For almost 10 years I've been using the super-simple recipe from LaTartineGourmande.com - I can't find this simple version now on her site and sadly the version that made it into her physical book is very complicated.  So copied in her writing:

"
A whole bunch of pitted cherries (I use whatever fruit--pears are incredible)
6 eggs
3/4 c. flour
pinch of salt
1 c. milk (I use mostly heavy cream, topped off with water)
And some sugar to sprinkle over it after baked.

1. Mix flour and salt with eggs.
2. Carefully stir in the milk.
3. Put in the cherries.
4. Dump all that in a buttered dish.
5. Bake at 400F - 205C for 35 minutes.

And for the Clafoutis, if you want things a little sweeter, just toss the fruit in sugar. I think that's enough to give it some sweet sparkle.

The Clafoutis will work with just about any fruit. I don't like it a lot with apples, but that's probably just me. Blueberries are good, and so are strawberries, pears (my favorite), plums, super ripe apricots (like about to fall apart), etc. It's a dish to use with whatever is in season. Chocolate is also a good sweetening touch. Just sayin'.  

"

Edited to add that she says this comes from "I Know How to Cook" by Ginette Mathiot.

And my primitive French says that it's pronounced kla-FOO-tee

Morfydd St. Clair said And my primitive French says that it's pronounced kla-FOO-tee

Thanks for telling me how to pronounce it. Since I have never heard anyone say it and don't know French ... I was saying kla-Foo-tis so I was close and now I will say tee instead of tis.

the clafoutis recipe that I use was given to me by a french girlfriend over 40 years ago, she made hers with cherries and the last two times I've made it, it was with fresh blueberries and the time before, with blood peaches from our tree. It really is a very easy and versatile cake/dessert. Plums are good too

Thank you for this, Anne! I made it for Christmas and it was well received. I used blueberries, and they could have been a bit riper, but it was still good. The aroma while cooking and driving with it in the car to my destination was remarkable. My French cooking book has a different recipe in it that I may try next time to compare.

I am so glad you liked it and that it was well received.

I think that I mention that I simplified the original recipe to make it easy to remember.

I have tried it with different fruits and this has always worked.

Wheaton Labs and the Base Camp was my inspiration.

Yes. it is a little more complicated and that's why I tried your version first. I like simple. It has a little more flour and I think some cream in it, which sounds good to me. I'll report back if I ever get around to it. I likely will, because I just found a cast iron pie pan on clearance and need to try it out!

Our blood peach tree had a bumper crop and collecting 20 - 30 windfall each day, decided to make clafoutis and quartered instead of slicing the peaches.

They stayed above the surface of the batter and looked much prettier.

Has anyone tried using currants or goumi berries for their clafouti? Always on the lookout for new ways to use these fruits!

This is the Clafoutis that inspired me to make my first one:



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