gooseberry clafoutis
Kind of like flan, kind of like a Dutch baby pancake. Clafoutis is a dessert from central France that is traditionally made with sweet cherries, which are in season right now. The batter is eggy and custardy and soft. Best of all, clafoutis is a breeze to make. I didn’t even break a sweat, even with the oven pre-heating.
My CSA cherries were too good to not be savored on their own, so I made use of some tart gooseberries in their place. I also added a bit of St-Germain elderflower liquer, which I love but have too much of, since I am not enough of a master-cocktailer to make fancy beverages with it. Clafoutis can also be made with just about any other kind of berry or sliced fruit (and other liquers and extracts, if you’d like).
recipe:
a bit of butter and a bit of flour
about 1 1/2 cups gooseberries
3 eggs
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups milk or cream (or a combination of the two)
1/4 cup St-Germain liquer (optional… if you don’t use it, replace with 1/4 cup milk or cream)
1/2 cup flour
powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 10-inch pie plate, gratin dish, or cake pan. Dust with flour, then shake off the excess that doesn’t stick to the butter.
Whisk eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Blend in sugar and salt, then add milk/cream and liquer. (Or maybe try soaking the gooseberries in St-Germain? I didn’t do this, but it might be a way to temper the tartness of the berries.) Gradually add flour while stirring gently to get everything well blended (there may still be some lumps, which is okay).
Spread gooseberries out evenly in the buttered and floured pan. Pour batter over the berries. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until top is lightly golden and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool, then dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Note: I am eating a cold wedge of this stuff as I write. The leftovers make a decent breakfast.
