Clucking for Clafoutis

The sun just rose casting a warm glow on the window pane of Patisserie Mulot’s pastry shop.  I see the reflection of people moving in both directions – probably heading for work.  I can hear the clicking of high heels on the pavement and an occasional, Bonjour! What laid before me looked like a table set for a king.  Already, there were shelves of tarts topped with slivers of almonds, cakes flowing with pastry cream topped with berries and perky puffy meringues…  Then, I saw it.  A large rectangle of creamy clafouti with little jewel-like cherries poking through -  not too sweet, a cake-custard with tart cherries!

I position myself in the line that was already forming.  My French is rusty, but managed to say, Je voudrais celle-ci. It worked!  They carefully place it on a piece of paper, folded and tied with a ribbon.  Off I go to my little apartment on the Seine to enjoy my morning treat.

I remember having a similar  clafouti in Tuscany.  It did not have a crust and was not as rich.  Thanks to Beverly and Chef Valter (Da Vinci Capers’ Chef) for the recipe below:

Cherry Clafouti (Serves 6)

Halfway between custard and cake, this traditional dessert will bring the French countryside to your table with its subtle richness.  Sour cherries peep out of the easy, eggy batter.  We have removed the pits, but if you want to do things the French way (more flavor and to save time), leave them in place and simply serve the clafouti with a warning.

1 1/4 pounds fresh sour cherries, pitted, or 1 pound frozen sour cherries – thawed and drained

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons kirsch

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Garnish:  confectioners’ sugar

Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Butter a shallow 2 1/2 quart baking dish.  Toss cherries with 1 tablespoon sugar and spread evenly in baking dish.

Combine eggs, milk, flour, salt, butter, dirsch, extracts, and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in blender and blend until smooth.  Pour batter over cherries.

Bake clafouti until puffed and golden, about 30 minutes.

Cool slightly on a rack (clafouti will sink as it cools) and serve warm, dusted with confectioners’ sugar.

(Can also be made with brandied plums:  simmer 1 1/2 pounds of pitted plums, cubed, with 4 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons brandy until juices are bubbly and thick – about 5 minutes.  Continue with recipe above. Yum!)

Enjoy! Think of Leonina being inspired by her visit to Gerard Mulot’s pastry shop! (Thank you Dorie Greenspan for the wonderful narrative in your marvelous book, “Paris Sweets – Great Desserts from the City’s Best Pastry Shops.”)

Lemon Ice Cream – a summer hit!

Thanks to our local newspaper and the old recipe from Gourmet Magazine, Lemon Ice Cream has been our favorite summer dessert!  We’ve served it with a rich dark chocolate sauce, on top of cherry pie, cherry clafouti (a cross between a cake and bread pudding), and last night a new version of strawberry shortcake.

Freshly churned, it’s light, tangy and full of flavor.  (Can be doubled easily.)

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 scant cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 cups half-and-half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a saucepan whisk together the zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and only 1 cup of the half-and-half and the vanilla.  Cook over medium-high  heat, stirring constantly, until it just comes to a simmer.  Strain the custard through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on the zest.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill.  When ready to churn, add the remaining half-and-half into the custard and pour into the ice cream freezer.  (follow manufacturer’s instructions on freezing)  Makes one quart.  Enjoy!

The Nose, Knows…

Lassie has some competition. Rocco is now the star for searching and retrieving. In a small village close to Pisa, Italy, Rocco sniffed a giant white truffle weighing in at 3.3 pounds – a new Guinness World Record.

You may ask, “How does finding an ugly fungus compare with Lassie finding his master down a well, or dragging a little boy from a fire?” Well, this giant truffle was just auctioned off and the winning bid went to billionaire Stanley Ho for $330,000! (Also a record.) The proceeds from the auction were slated to help people with genetic diseases, street children in London and Catholic charities. That’s helping a lot of people for one glorious moment of mucking in the mud!

This led me to learn about how truffles are found. It’s in the nose. But, depending on the country, depends on what nose! In France, they use pigs. The only problem is that the pigs love to eat the truffle after they find it and is rewarded by being beaten by a stick!

In Italy, they use dogs to find truffles by first training the dog to locate a ball, then they use Gorgonzola cheese, then the real thing – a piece of truffle. Fortunately, the dogs’ palates lean toward dog treats rather than truffles.

Ah… what we do to add a little spice to our lives…