Apricot and Raspberry Clafouti - The Washington Post: "Adapted from David Lebovitz's "The Sweet Life in Paris" (Broadway Books, 2009)."
At a fruit stand nearby, the wiry, balding Lebovitz picks out Spanish apricots. Back at his apartment, he quickly throws together a clafouti, that simple French dish of fruit suspended in something between custard and cake.
(Clafoutis isn't a cake - it really is more of a yorkshire pudding with fruit in.)
He butters a white gratin dish, washes the apricots and some raspberries, then whirs together a batter in a blender. He pours it over the fruit in the dish, bakes it, then sprinkles coarse sugar on top and bakes it a little more. Once the clafouti has cooled a bit, Lebovitz and I taste it: The baked apricots have become more tart, which makes the sweet sponge enrobing them all the more delicious.
This classic, simple French dessert is marvelous when summer fruits and berries are in season. The original recipe called for small prune plums, which can be cut in half and pitted. The apricots used here become pleasantly tangy when baked.
Serving: 8
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the baking dish
1 pound ripe apricots, pitted and cut into 3/4 inch wedges (may substitute small ripe plums, cut in half and pitted)
1 cup raspberries, washed
3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/3 cups whole milk
Directions
Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat to 190C.
Use butter to liberally grease the bottom and sides of a shallow baking dish (holds 8 cups - apx 15x9.5x2.5 - Pan Sizes ).
Arrange the apricot wedges (cut sides up) and the raspberries in a single layer on the bottom of the dish.
Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth, then whisk in the 4 tablespoons of melted butter and the flour until completely smooth. Add the vanilla, then whisk in 1/2 cup of the sugar and the milk to form a custard.
Pour the custard over the fruit.
Bake on the top rack for 30 minutes, then pull out the rack gently, so the crust that is just beginning to form on the claflouti remains intact.
Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the surface, then gently return the rack to its position.
Bake the claflouti for 30 minutes, or until it feels slightly firm in the center and its top is a nice golden brown.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
"Batter puddings, where fruit is suspended in a flour and egg batter, are one of the few acceptable hot puddings in summer. Some recipes are soft, like a deflated soufflé, others firmer and puddingy. Most, however, land somewhere between a Yorkshire pud and a custard tart. A clafoutis of cherries is probably the best known, though apricots and pears are used sometimes, too. You will need a shallow china dish.
The trick
Do stone the cherries, it's a drag, but worth it. (Blueberry is my favouruite fruit for this, but hardly traditional.) Sieve the flour, it will help the batter enormously. The dusting of the top with icing sugar is not a conceit: that extra hit of sweetness is really necessary. Like all batters, a short time at a high temperature is the way to go. Serve the clafoutis warm, like a quiche, with cream from a jug.
The twist
Swap the cherries for 275g of blueberries, blackberries or some cooked pears. Change a third of the flour for finely ground almonds. The result will be heavier and more grainy but with a more interesting flavour. Soak the fruit in kirsch before using. Use the blueberry version as a filling for a custard tart."
Nigel Slater.
Important beyond belief: don't over-beat the batter. The protein in the flour will open up to form long, elastic strands, which make things tough and chewy, rather than soft and yielding. Easy solution: beat the batter just enough to mix, then strain through a sieve into the pan, pressing lumps through with a spoon.
The ratio for classic clafoutis is for every egg:
1 tablespoon sugar,
1 tablespoon flour,
160 ml milk/cream.
'via Blog this'
At a fruit stand nearby, the wiry, balding Lebovitz picks out Spanish apricots. Back at his apartment, he quickly throws together a clafouti, that simple French dish of fruit suspended in something between custard and cake.
(Clafoutis isn't a cake - it really is more of a yorkshire pudding with fruit in.)
He butters a white gratin dish, washes the apricots and some raspberries, then whirs together a batter in a blender. He pours it over the fruit in the dish, bakes it, then sprinkles coarse sugar on top and bakes it a little more. Once the clafouti has cooled a bit, Lebovitz and I taste it: The baked apricots have become more tart, which makes the sweet sponge enrobing them all the more delicious.
This classic, simple French dessert is marvelous when summer fruits and berries are in season. The original recipe called for small prune plums, which can be cut in half and pitted. The apricots used here become pleasantly tangy when baked.
Serving: 8
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the baking dish
1 pound ripe apricots, pitted and cut into 3/4 inch wedges (may substitute small ripe plums, cut in half and pitted)
1 cup raspberries, washed
3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/3 cups whole milk
Directions
Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven; preheat to 190C.
Use butter to liberally grease the bottom and sides of a shallow baking dish (holds 8 cups - apx 15x9.5x2.5 - Pan Sizes ).
Arrange the apricot wedges (cut sides up) and the raspberries in a single layer on the bottom of the dish.
Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until smooth, then whisk in the 4 tablespoons of melted butter and the flour until completely smooth. Add the vanilla, then whisk in 1/2 cup of the sugar and the milk to form a custard.
Pour the custard over the fruit.
Bake on the top rack for 30 minutes, then pull out the rack gently, so the crust that is just beginning to form on the claflouti remains intact.
Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar evenly over the surface, then gently return the rack to its position.
Bake the claflouti for 30 minutes, or until it feels slightly firm in the center and its top is a nice golden brown.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
"Batter puddings, where fruit is suspended in a flour and egg batter, are one of the few acceptable hot puddings in summer. Some recipes are soft, like a deflated soufflé, others firmer and puddingy. Most, however, land somewhere between a Yorkshire pud and a custard tart. A clafoutis of cherries is probably the best known, though apricots and pears are used sometimes, too. You will need a shallow china dish.
The trick
Do stone the cherries, it's a drag, but worth it. (Blueberry is my favouruite fruit for this, but hardly traditional.) Sieve the flour, it will help the batter enormously. The dusting of the top with icing sugar is not a conceit: that extra hit of sweetness is really necessary. Like all batters, a short time at a high temperature is the way to go. Serve the clafoutis warm, like a quiche, with cream from a jug.
The twist
Swap the cherries for 275g of blueberries, blackberries or some cooked pears. Change a third of the flour for finely ground almonds. The result will be heavier and more grainy but with a more interesting flavour. Soak the fruit in kirsch before using. Use the blueberry version as a filling for a custard tart."
Nigel Slater.
Important beyond belief: don't over-beat the batter. The protein in the flour will open up to form long, elastic strands, which make things tough and chewy, rather than soft and yielding. Easy solution: beat the batter just enough to mix, then strain through a sieve into the pan, pressing lumps through with a spoon.
The ratio for classic clafoutis is for every egg:
1 tablespoon sugar,
1 tablespoon flour,
160 ml milk/cream.
'via Blog this'
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