These were the last of the gooseberries here this year but I had to write down the recipe for next summer — in the magical week (or two) when gooseberries and cherries have a chance to meet, make this clafoutis!
Last year by happenstance I mixed gooseberries and strawberries — in jam, and in cake (about which I finally wrote last week). What an incredible combination. And now this. Yesterday, by chance again, just because I buy much too much fruit at this time of year and actually had a forgotten bag of cherries and some gooseberries on the verge of shriveling, I made another cake.
I’m starting to believe that goosegogs are the berry equivalent of msg. They make everything more delicious. All at once they enliven and deepen the flavor of each fruit with which they are paired — dessert umami.
Cherry and gooseberry clafoutis
About 500g each of cherries and gooseberries
2 Tbsp flour (one for the batter and one for dusting the fruit)
3 eggs
4 Tbsps light brown sugar plus one for dusting the clafoutis
250 ml (1 cup) milk
2 Tbsps ground almonds
Grated zest from 1 lemon
Pinch salt
1 Tbsp kirsch
Preheat oven to 375°F (200°C).
Wash and pit the cherries. Wash and rub off the fuzz from the gooseberries. Cut them in half if quite large.
Butter an ovenproof that will fit all the fruit snugly in double layers.
Place the fruit in the dish, sprinkle with a tablespoon of sifted flour, and toss gently to dust the fruit.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until frothy. Add the milk, then the flour and ground almonds, lemon zest, salt, and kirsch.
Pour the batter over the fruit and slip into the oven.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until the batter is set and the top nicely golden. In the last 5 or 10 minutes of cooking sprinkle a spoonful of sugar over the clafoutis.
Let cool before eating.
Tags: bake, cherries, clafoutis, easy, gooseberries
Nettle and Quince 
22 August 2018 at 00:30 |
Made this with some plums which were threatening to get over-ripe (but weren’t). It was delicious, but even after 50+ min in the oven was still somewhat wet. The custard was well-cooked and the juices tasty but the mouth-feel was off.
Perhaps plums are just too wet a fruit? or need to be macerated before using them?
Thanks for the simple recipe and the inspiration!
Bill
23 August 2018 at 03:18 |
Thanks, Bill. Yes I think the plums will have released too much juice. For fruit like plums, peaches, apricots (and apples and pears though for a different reason), I would recommend caramelizing the fruit in a frying pan with a pat of butter first. Glad you liked the recipe!
Valerie