Clafoutis is a common French dessert spelled both Clafoutis and Clafouti and pronounced Kla-FOO-tee. I describe the texture of a Clafoutis as a cross between a cake and a custard. In France, we often debate: Is a clafoutis a cake or a custard? It's creamy like a custard, yet it is like a cake because it contains some flour. But it is not dense like a cake because there are only a few tablespoons of flour, so it’s more like a custard… and so the debate goes. Either way, it’s delicious and light. A Clafoutis is commonly made with pears or cherries. Here's a simple recipe I learned in France that you could use with almost any fruit, such as rhubarb, cherries, or a mixture of fruits, or in this case, pear.
3-4 ripe pears
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup organic sugar
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of homemade vanilla or Madagascar vanilla
Optional - 2 tablespoons of confectioner sugar for dusting
1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Butter and sugar in a 9 - 10 inch tarte or baking dish. Tip: Keep butter wrappers in the refrigerator, place about 1/2 teaspoon of butter in a wrapper, and rub it in the baking dish. Butter wrappers can be reused several times. After you butter the dish, add about a tablespoon of the sugar in the baking dish and swirl it around to coat the dish. Do this over the sink in case some sugar falls out off the dish.
3. Combine the flour and sugar in a mixing bowl. In the middle, make a well and add the eggs. Whisk the flour mixture and eggs for a few seconds to combine.
4. Add about 1/3 of the milk into the flour and egg mixture and whisk until a thick batter forms. This helps prevent lumps in the batter, rather than adding all the milk at once.
5. Add the rest of the milk, cream, and vanilla, and whisk until well combined.
6. Peel and slice the pears around the core, or use an apple corer to remove the core. Removing the core is very fast with an apple corer.
6. Place the pears in the baking dish.
7. Pour the batter over the pears.
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until firm and golden on top. Do not over-bake, or else the Clafoutis will be too dry.
Traditionally, a Clafoutis is topped with a dusting of powdered sugar. Place 1 - 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a sieve and sift on top of the Clafoutis to add the powdered sugar.
Serve the Clafoutis warm or cold.
Find it online: https://dinnerwithcaterina.com/pear-clafoutis/