http://www.dishmaps.com/cherry-clafouti/23764
After a lifetime-or so it seems-spent collecting recipes newspapers from the West Coast to the Mid West and back again, it was time to utilize them. Where they worth the paper they were printed on-and the hassle of packing and moving them.
It would take hours, perhaps days even to sift through the 3, or so boxes of clippings, magazines, and even entire Food Sections of various publications, collected over the years. Yet this project was too important personally to put it off, or delay it, even if I got sucked into the minutiae of which recipe is best.
Luckily there were a few that hadn't been tossed into the vortex-the cardboard vortex that is my filing/packing cabinet.
Since this was the first effort of the plan, I went for something completely different-a dessert. Desserts are not in my wheelhouse-unless I am eating them. There were several reasons for stretching beyond my wheelhouse:there was a lot of fruit in the freezer that needed to be used, more importantly leave the comfort zone.
Desserts can be tricky and temperamental, just like people and ovens. Sides and main dishes can be easier to master-I find. Desserts offered a bit of mystery, and danger. They offered a place where I very well would make a mistake, where the dish would suck and be less than tasty. (Making a dish that wasn't tasty hadn't happened since I put dill in spaghetti sauce. In my defence, I envisioned a red seafood sauce Italian style, instead of a creamy dill seafood sauce. It was an epic fail).
The chosen recipe came from the May 2017 Costco Connection magazine;Berry Clafouti. Originally from the Book Food Swings by Jessica Seinfeld.
Berry Clafouti
Serves 6 | Active Time: 10 min | Total Time: 1 hour
Serves 6 | Active Time: 10 min | Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
Unsalted butter, for the baking dish
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for the baking dish
4 cups mixed raspberries and blackberries
11/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond meal/flour
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Unsalted butter, for the baking dish
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar, plus more for the baking dish
4 cups mixed raspberries and blackberries
11/4 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond meal/flour
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven (with the oven rack in the middle) to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Sprinkle a little sugar in the dish and shake to coat the bottom and up the sides.
Preheat the oven (with the oven rack in the middle) to 350°F. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish. Sprinkle a little sugar in the dish and shake to coat the bottom and up the sides.
Arrange the berries in a single layer over the bottom of the dish.
In a blender, combine the milk, eggs, 1⁄2 cup of the sugar, the vanilla, flour, almond meal, lemon zest, and salt. Blend for 1 minute. Skim off the foam. Pour over the berries in the bottom of the dish and sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until puffed and a paring knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm.
It looked like a pretty easy recipe to follow and I had most of the ingredients. My shopping list shows I didn't have almond meal/flour, a lemon, a zester, unsalted butter, or shallow 2 qt. baking dish.
After acquiring these items it was Cook Time.
Now I made a small change instead of raspberries or blackberries, I used blueberries and mango chunks. Both were frozen and I didn't thaw them out before putting into the baking dish.
I mixed, and coated, and placed, and prepared as directed.
However, the oven was off. The cooking time was extended beyond 55 minutes, by another 12 minutes. Even then the inside wasn't quite as solid as I would have liked. The top was getting a little too dark for my liking and was preparing to cover with aluminum foil when my mother appeared fork(s)? in hand.
I was unable to hold her off from storming the kitchen and the just about done clafouti. I wish I had been able to take a picture but it didn't last long enough to be immortalize in digital form. However, despite my misgivings as to its solidified state, it was delicious. Creamy, but not heavy. Sweet but not overly so. It reminded me and my mother of flan.
I don't know for sure why it didn't firm up as it should have. But I suspect the oven, mostly. And I wonder if the fruit had excess moisture. Even though the recipe allows for frozen fruit, perhaps thawing and removing excess moisture would have helped.
I plan to bake this again. I still have frozen fruit-quite a bit. I am thinking of using one fruit, instead of two, in order to lessen the moisture. If still having issues with firmness then I will thaw the fruit and wrap in paper towels overnight.
Enjoy the recipe. Have fun. And keep cooking.
