Masterclass R ECIPE + T E X T
Denise Marchessault S T Y LING + PHO T OGR A PH Y
Deb Garlick
F
ew desserts are as simple and comforting as a French clafouti (cla-fooTEE). Rustic as a country farmhouse, a clafouti transforms kitchen staples into a satisfying fresh-from-the-oven dessert or welcome addition to a lazy weekend brunch.
More custard than cake, clafouti is an old-world dessert originally from the Limousin region of France and traditionally made with cherries. It was customary leave the pits as bakers believed they enhance the flavour of the custard. Historical convention aside, I’ve opted for pitted plums instead. Clafouti works especially well with stone fruit, but just about any fruit or berry can be added to the batter. It’s a clever way to use up excess summer fruit and can be adapted to any season. 20 JULY/AUGUST 2022
A simple and delicious old-world dessert for modern times. If you’re making it in the fall, for example, you can use apples or pears, but you’ll need to precook them until softened. If you can make pancakes, you can make clafouti. A batter of eggs, flour, and sweetened milk (mixed by blender or by hand) is poured into a buttered pan, with pitted plums and baked until puffed and golden at the edges. The batter can be made in advance, which makes it convenient to pop in the oven just before you sit down to dinner (it takes only about 30–40 minutes to bake). Expect the custard to collapse on cue, from oven to dinner table. It will likely crack, too. Clafouti is a homespun dish that doesn’t take itself too seriously (the name comes from the French verb clafir, meaning to fill).