Clafoutis Food

CLAFOUTIS AUX CERISES (CLASSIC CLAFOUTI)

Steps:

• Combine milk and vanilla bean in a pot and steep for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch baking dish with butter. Spread out cherries in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt in a bowl. Add eggs one at a time; beat with an electric mixer after each addition until smooth and creamy.
• Remove vanilla bean from milk and discard. Add milk to egg mixture. Pour in heavy cream; mix until smooth. Pour mixture evenly over cherries.
• Bake in the preheated oven until top of clafoutis is golden, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar on top. Let cool slightly before serving so that the clafoutis is set. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CHERRY CLAFOUTIS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 11-inch-round baking dish and spread the cherries evenly over the bottom.
• Whisk the eggs, half-and-half, cottage cheese, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and the flour in a medium bowl until combined. Pour the batter over the cherries, sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and scatter the sliced butter on top.
• Bake until puffed and golden around the edges, about 40 minutes. Cool slightly, then dust with confectioners' sugar.

APPLE CLAFOUTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Make the batter: Sift the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, and milk until well blended. Add about 1/3 of the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until smooth, then gradually incorporate the remaining egg mixture. Whisk until well blended. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
• Cook the apples: With the tip of a knife, scrape the vanilla bean seeds from the pod into an ovenproof 10-inch cast iron or stainless steel skillet. Add the pod and the butter and cook over moderately high heat until the butter turns nut brown. Add a pinch of salt. Add the apples and cook, stirring often, until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean pod and discard. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar, reduce the heat to moderately low, and cook until the apples are almost cooked through and the sugar has melted and is coating the apples in a light syrup. Add the grappa or other brandy off the fire while pouring, place back on the fire, wait for flame to die down, the swirl the pan briefly. Spread the fruit evenly in the skillet.
• Working quickly, pour batter evenly over the fruit. Bake until the edges of the clafouti are puffed and browned and the center is set, about 15 minutes.
• Put some confectioners' sugar in a sieve and generously dust the surface of the clafouti. Serve warm directly from the pan with a dollop of creme fraiche.
• Michael's Notes: If you plan to serve individual clafoutis from mini pans, heat the pans in the oven until quite hot, about 5 minutes, then divide the cooked fruit among the pans, top with the batter, and bake. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the pans.
• To make a cherry clafouti, use 1 1/4 cups pitted cherries. Substitute 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest for the cinnamon and Grand Marnier for the grappa.

BASIC CLAFOUTIS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and butter until the sugar is dissolved. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into a cast iron skillet or pie pan.
• 2. Now add your favorite fruit or flavoring (see below). Bake until the clafoutis is beautifully puffed and golden, 35-40 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Clafoutis Variations: Concord Grape Clafoutis: Once the batter is in the skillet, scatter 2 cups slightly crushed Concord or other black or red grapes on top. Cherry Clafoutis: Scatter 2 cups pitted cherries onto the batter once it's poured into pie plates. Pear Clafoutis with Pear Eau de Vie: Core 1 ripe pear and cut into pieces. Pour the batter into the skillet and top with the pear pieces. Bake. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons eau de vie and serve immediately. Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Clafoutis: Melt 1 cup chopped milk chocolate in a large mixing bowl set above a simmering pot of water. Fold in the clafoutis batter until smooth and fully incorporated. Pour into a skillet or pie plate, sprinkle with 1/4 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, and bake.

JULIA CHILD'S BERRY CLAFOUTIS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a medium-size flameproof baking dish at least 1 1/2 inches deep.
• Place the milk, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour in a blender. Blend at top speed until smooth and frothy, about 1 minute.
• Pour a 1/4-inch layer of batter in the baking dish. Turn on a stove burner to low and set dish on top for a minute or two, until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat.
• Spread berries over the batter and sprinkle on the remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth with the back of a spoon. Place in the center of the oven and bake about 50 minutes, until top is puffed and browned and a tester plunged into its center comes out clean.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving. (Clafoutis need not be served hot, but should still be warm. It will sink slightly as it cools.)

CLAFOUTIS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Oil or butter a 23cm flan dish or tin (not loose-bottomed) and scatter the berries over the base.
• Whizz all the batter ingredients in a blender until smooth, pour it over the fruits and bake for 20-25 mins until risen and golden brown. Serve warm.

CHEF JOHN'S BLUEBERRY CLAFOUTIS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Generously butter a 2 1/2-quart baking dish.
• Pour blueberries into prepared baking dish.
• Blend milk, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt in a blender until batter is smooth. Pour batter over blueberries and gently shake to remove any air bubbles.
• Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and center is set, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool until clafoutis deflates and is just warm.

CHEAT'S CLAFOUTIS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 190C/gas 5/fan 170C. Lightly oil a shallow 1.3 litre baking dish. Gently heat the cherries and jam in a large saucepan, stirring all the time until the jam melts over the cherries. Tip them into the dish and sprinkle with the lemon zest and juice.
• Whizz the flour, eggs, milk, cinnamon and sugar in a food processor for 30 seconds until smooth. Pour over the cherries, then put the dish on a baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the custard is set and the jam is beginning to bubble through. Dust with icing sugar and serve hot.