simple summer clafoutis

Summer Fruit Clafoutis

Did Someone Say Easy Dessert?

Clafoutis is one of the easiest desserts to make, not to mention an absolute showstopper. Like a soufflé, this dessert puffs to great heights and begins to deflate moments after being removed from the oven. However, unlike a soufflé, clafoutis batter is super simple to make — just whisk the ingredients together and voila!

Many clafoutis recipes, particularly at this time of year, highlight cherries. This is because the clafoutis was first created in Limousin, France, a region celebrated for its black cherries. While I do love the classic cherry clafoutis, I find that clafoutis is even better suited for fruits with more tart and acidic qualities, like raspberries, blackberries, plums and apricots. I also enjoy topping it with chopped nuts and turbinado sugar, to give it a crunch to contrast its soft and delicate texture.

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Recipe

Summer Fruit Clafoutis
Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

  • Softened unsalted butter and sugar (for the ramekins)
  • ½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 pinches salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 cups fresh fruit, such as berries or sliced stone fruit
  • 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
  • ¼ cup chopped pistachios, optional

Directions

  1. Place a rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 F. Lightly butter and sugar eight ramekins.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and salt together. Add the eggs, yolks, cream and lemon zest and continue to whisk until smooth. Slowly whisk in the melted butter.
  3. Divide the batter evenly among the ramekins, evenly scatter the fruit over the top of the batter, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar and pistachios.
  4. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake until puffed, set in the center and light golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. (Note: You can alternate ramekins with a 9-inch cast-iron pan or cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.)
  5. Serve warm, with ice cream if desired.

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