Plum and Roasted Hazelnut Clafoutis

Be prepared to have your tastebuds throw a party. This clafoutis combines sweet, tart, soft and crunchy for a combination that no-one can resist. Clafou-tastic!

You might wonder what a clafoutis is. I didn't even know what a clafoutis was until two days ago, when I was going through my new cookbook and came across the recipe - so much to learn, y'all! A clafoutis is a classic French dessert from the Limousin area, traditionally filled with cherries, but you can substitute these for another fruit (which is what I did). It tastes like custard and pancakes and has a flan-type of consistency. The plums become super juicy and add a lovely tartness. The hazelnuts provide some crunch and texture for contrast to all that softness. You might want to get a tissue to wipe all that drool off right about now. 

 

Clafoutis is usually baked in an oven-proof (round) glass dish, but you can use any other dish as long as it doesn't leak. I used a flan tin with a loose bottom, living on the edge! For my clafoutis I used roasted organic hazelnuts and plums - which are apparently not in season? I thought they were, since they weren't too expensive. I usually bake with seasonal ingredients, but I accidentally summered this up. It still tasted like fall to me!

Recipe Plum and Hazelnut Clafoutis

Batter:
150 gr eggs (3)
90 gr castor sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (9 gr)
150 gr all-purpose flour
300 ml full-fat milk
pinch of salt
45 gr butter

Filling:
350gr plums (about 6), halved and pitted

Topping:
50 gr hazelnuts, roasted and roughly chopped
icing sugar (optional)

26cm round oven dish, 3-4cm high

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. 
You could roast your hazelnuts while you're preparing the batter, checking periodically to make sure they don't burn. Once they're done, you can remove their skins easily by rubbing them with a tea towel.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and the sugar until you get a lightly foaming consistency using an electric mixer.

3. Sieve in the flour and add the milk and salt. Stir until there are no clumps left.

4. Heat the butter in the microwave for about 15 seconds on about 400W until it has a mayonaise-like consistency. Stir this into the batter.

5. Grease your dish with a bit of melted butter.

6. Pour in a layer of batter into your dish that is about 0.5 cm. Bake this for about 5 minutes, then take it out of the oven and leave for another 5 minutes. This will ensure your fruit doesn't sink to the bottom.

7. When the batter has firmed up, place the plum halves in the dish with the spherical side up. Then pour in the rest of the batter. Sprinkle the hazelnuts on top and place in the middle of the oven. Bake for 40 minutes.

8. Remove the clafoutis from the oven and leave to cool in the dish/tin. Decorate with some icing sugar just before serving.

Recipe adapted from Bakboek: de Klassiekers