Clafoutis

Now I have labeled this recipe Clafoutis rather than saying raspberry clafoutis which you can see that I have used as my garden is fit to bursting with them at the moment, simply because you can use any fruit that you like and that is in season, for now that is raspberries and blackberries, but peaches, plums, cherries and blackcurrant’s would all be equally as lovely.

This clafoutis is a little different, I am not saying that it is completely virtuous but unlike many traditional French versions a few alterations to the recipe does mean that it does have fewer calories, less fat and of course has luscious healthy fruit in it. There is only 60g of sugar, 5g of butter instead of the usual 30g and semi-skimmed milk rather than full-fat milk and the cream that the batter is usually made from.

Traditionally made using cherries, this dessert is a very old fashioned and traditional dish that originates from the Limousin area of France, gorgeous seasonal fruit suspended in a batter which is a cross between a set custard and a Yorkshire pudding, clafoutis is one of the few acceptable baked puddings that you can eat in the Summer. It is truly delicious.

Serve warm with a good quality vanilla ice cream or custard and don’t forget to save a slice to have cold for breakfast, I did and it was a heavenly start to my day with my rich espresso.

Buon appetito

Serves 6

5g butter
1 teaspoon flour, for dusting the pan
250g raspberries, blackcurrant’s etc, this is a rough measurement, just use what you have or fits your dish
3 medium free-range eggs
60g caster sugar (I like to use unrefined)
2 tablespoon plain flour (I use Spelt flour)
a pinch of salt
170ml semi-skimmed organic milk
1 tablespoon icing sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 200C (400F, gas mark 6)

Butter the base and sides of a 24cm in diameter ovenproof dish. Sieve 1 tablespoon of flour over it, turn the dish in your hands so that the flour is evenly distributed around the dish.

Scatter your chosen fruit into the dish.

In a large mixing bowl or jug, beat the eggs with the sugar using a large ballon whisk, you could be lazy and use an electric mixer, but it does only take minutes. When there is no gritty sugar under your whisk, sieve the flour and salt over and whisk to combine.

Add the milk and mix until the batter is uniform.

Pour the batter over the fruit and put the dish into the middle of the oven.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve warm with a dusting of icing sugar sieved over the top.