Cook Well this autumn: plum custard
A clafoutis (klah-foo-tee)
is fruit baked in a thin, custardy batter. For this plum version, you need eggs, milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, a little butter, and ripe plums. It takes about ten minutes to assemble, then about forty minutes in the oven. The edges turn golden, the plums soften, and the kitchen smells like warm fruit and vanilla.
Serves: 6
Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 40–45 minutes
Rest: 15 minutes
Ingredients
4 medium ripe but firm plums, pitted and cut into thick slices
Butter for the baking dish
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
½ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup sugar
1 tablespoon melted butter, cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
¼ teaspoon fine salt
Confectioners’ sugar, optional, to finish
Method
Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter a shallow 9-inch baking dish.
Arrange the plum slices across the dish. Keep them mostly in one layer.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together. Whisk in the milk, melted butter, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt. Add the flour and whisk until the batter is smooth enough to pour; a few tiny lumps are fine.
Pour the batter around and over the plums. Leave some fruit visible on top.
Bake for 40–45 minutes, until the edges are browned and puffed and the center is set with only a slight tremble. If the center still looks liquid, give it a few more minutes.
Rest for 15 minutes. Dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar if you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Technique learned: King Arthur Baking’s fruit clafoutis uses the same basic sequence of fruit, pourable batter, and baking until set. King Arthur Baking
Here’s the technique I want you to notice. In Martha Stewart’s nectarine clafoutis, she briefly bakes a thin layer of batter on the bottom of the dish before adding the rest and arranging the fruit. I found that little pause interesting: it gives the fruit a better chance to stay visible on top. With my plums, I like to save a few particularly beautiful slices for the surface. You can add fresh fruit when serving, too.
It’s a dessert for tonight, with any luck, a slice left for breakfast. More than that, it’s a batter you can learn once and bring back when the fruit changes.
