We went to a BBQ, it was definitely very British because it was raining. I decided to make a lovely summery dish to counteract this so I opted for Cherry Clafoutis. It's a delicious mixture of dark cherries and sweet batter like cake. It's dead simple, but it sounds dead posh. Plus, whilst I don't know the precise figures, I reckon it's fairly healthy (as much as cake can be) it contains only the teeny weeniest spot of fat, it's mostly fruit and barely any sugar. Hurrah!
To make it you will need:
1lb (10oz) cherries, washed and stoned.
3tbsp kirsch (I used plum brandy)
4 large eggs
75g (2.5 oz) caster sugar
Butter for greasing
1 vanilla pod
100g (3.5 oz) plain flour, sifted
300ml (10fl oz) milk
Icing sugar to dust
I love the look of cherries, they're so very dark. We have the most old fashioned cherry stoner, it looks like an instrument of torture, particularly when splashed with cherry juice. Works a treat though!
Cover your cherries with a little of the sugar and booze and leave aside for around half an hour. They will release lots of delicious dark juice. Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.
Mix together the beaten eggs, sugar and the juice from your cherries. Add the centre of your vanilla pod. Slowly whisk in your sifted flour until you have a smooth, thick batter. Then whisk in your milk. The batter will become really quite thin.
Arrange your cherries in the bottom of a well greased flan dish and pour over your batter mixture. I find it helps to make sure your dish is already on a baking tray, it makes it easier to lift into the oven when it's full.
Bake for 35 - 45 minutes until the edges are brown and the centre has set.
Allow to cool for around 10 minutes and dust with icing sugar. Scoff warm. Enjoy cherry juice....mmmmm...
Have you tried clafoutis before? Any tips for me? I'd love to hear your thoughts...
Love, love,
OH wow, that looks lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I didn't get to eat much of this particular one (Wiggles had other ideas) but what I had was pretty good I must confess!
DeleteCherries and plum brandy, that sounds and looks so good. One of my favourite writers talks about making a clafoutis in one of her novels - she makes a clafoutis while her nasty husband is on the phone to his lover and it's at that point that she realises that she needs to get out of her marriage - and I've always thought of it as something incredibly complicated without having a clue what it really was. But I could give this a go!
ReplyDeleteHow funny Caz! The first time I'd ever heard of Clafoutis was whilst watching the stage version of God of Carnage in London. Ken Stott and Tamsin Greig were hilariously discussing this dessert I'd never heard of, and I thought to myself I really must look this up! I think it's the sort of thing that sounds fascinating when read or overhead, such a lovely word!
DeleteI've never heard of this before, it sounds and looks good though.
ReplyDeleteIt's very good Rebecca! And everso easy, which helps me!!!
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