Okay, I concede – I have a new favorite clafoutis recipe [from this book]! It fooled me for a second as it was described as a ‘baked custard’ but ohmygod, is it sumptuous! It also used pear and some rehydrated dried sour cherries, which turn plump in the oven and provide a sharp tart contrast to the pears, which have been just wonderful this season.
You’ll need:
- A bit of unsalted butter, to prep your baking dish
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 2 medium-sized pears ( I like Williams, can also use Anjou)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 400 F (about 205 C) degrees. Butter a 10-inch ceramic tart dish or 9 1/2-inch pie plate.
- Put cherries in a medium bowl, and cover with boiling water by 1 inch. Let stand until plump, about 10 minutes.
- Cut pear lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices; fan over bottom of prepared dish.
- Blend milk, cream, eggs, vanilla, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth, about 1 minute. Do this in a blender if you have one, otherwise, whisk by hand or with a hand mixer. This batter is pretty runny, so you can actually just use some limited forearm strength to get this done.
- Pour batter over pears.
- Drain cherries (well!); sprinkle over batter.
- I still used Julia Child’s trick of heating the pie plate/pan on the stove for about 2-3 minutes to form an initial crust on the bottom before putting the clafoutis into the oven.
- After you’ve done that, bake until golden and set, about 25 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes (this will be hard). This version does not get as souffle-y (less eggs, more milk!) so it will not settle as much as it stands but will still be super moist and tender.