When Baking Clafoutis, Choose Your Fruit Wisely
You don't need exceptional culinary skills to make a clafoutis that disappears quickly, but the fruit you choose can make or break the texture of your finished treat. While the custardy clafoutis was traditionally made with cherries, recipes have since evolved to include many different kinds of fruits. Unpitted black cherries originally lent a subtle sweetness to the dish, but now, at-home chefs can pick fruits of the season to tuck into an eggy batter that is baked to golden perfection.
Reach for denser fruits like pears, plums, and peaches when you're starting to experiment with making this dish. Ripe, juicy fruits can inadvertently add too much moisture to the batter, resulting in a disappointing dessert that hasn't quite reached the gummy, chewy perfection a beautifully made clafoutis is known for. The baked custard should be able to be sliced into a pie-like form and served. If the baked dish is too soft to hold shape, you know you have missed the mark.
When texture matters as much as taste
Over time, you can look to incorporate juicier fruits and adjust the proportions of other ingredients to account for the added moisture. While fresh fruit is a preferred choice for many clafoutis-creating chefs, dried fruits and frozen fruits can also be used with some recipe adjustments. To avoid a soggy affair, be sure to drain and dry any fruits — frozen or fresh — before adding them to your custard mix. Should you have your heart set on clafoutis made with cubes of fresh pineapple or ripe slices of juicy mango, place cut pieces onto a baking sheet and dry out some of the excess moisture in the oven before getting to work on your clafoutis dish.
Use blueberries for a clafoutis recipe that can be served any time of day, or consider making your recipe with apples for a delicious clafoutis that can be confidently set onto the breakfast table or dessert buffet for tonight's dinner party. Whether enjoyed with a pot of freshly brewed coffee or sliced to eat with a dollop of homemade whipped cream after dinner, dishes of baked clafoutis won't last long in any household.