Yorkshire #TourdeFrance Cherry Clafoutis!
ThermoHubby John and I were in the Champagne region of France on Saturday with some friends who not only introduced us to a new Champagne producer but also gave us a big bag of gorgeous, dark, ripe cherries they had picked from a nearby tree. And when at lunchtime I ordered a Cherry Clafoutis for dessert in the lovely Le Magny hotel-restaurant in Les Riceys, I decided that of course I was going to use the newly-acquired cherries to make another Cherry Clafoutis in my trusty Thermomix.
Despite quite a large lunch, on Saturday night I made Toad in the Hole using the Yorkshire Pudding recipe from Fast and Easy Cooking. As usual, it was fantastic. I even made onion gravy in my Thermomix to go with it, yum yum yum. Now, I have always felt that traditional clafoutis batter baked up rather a bit… dare I say rubbery?? So when we were eating – nay, devouring – the Toad in the Hole I couldn’t help but make the comparison between the two batters and thinking that the Yorkshire Pudding batter was much lighter.
On went my thinking cap.
Clafoutis batter = 6 eggs, 100 g flour, 300 g milk = rubber!
Yorkshire Pudding batter = 2 eggs, 150 g flour, 400 g milk = lighter!
All of those eggs must have been reacting to the gorgeous juice from the cherries to make a rubbery batter, don’t you think? I daresay it didn’t take me long to decide to add the same amount of sugar and vanilla as in the clafoutis batter to the Yorkshire Pudding batter and see how it turned out. And I daresay it turned out just the way I wanted it to, much lighter and just as lovely tasting. Success!
So here, in honour of the Tour de France passing through Yorkshire this year, is my Yorkshire #TourdeFrance Cherry Clafoutis recipe.
Yorkshire #TourdeFrance Cherry Clafoutis
A lighter variation on a classic theme, devised in honour of the Tour de France’s passage through Yorkshire in July, 2014. Serves 8 to 12.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter (for the dish)
500 g cherries, pitted or not, as you wish
2 large eggs
150 g plain flour
60 g sugar
400 g milk
a good pinch of salt
1 Tbsp vanilla extract/essence (yep, a big bloomin’ tablespoon really gives good flavour to the cherries)
2 Tbsp Kirsch or brandy (optional but really good!)
Method
- Preheat oven to 220° C/210° C fan/425° F. Generously butter a 20 cm/9 inch heavy baking dish. Weigh or add all ingredients into the TM bowl and mix 20 seconds/Speed 4.
- Pour batter into dish and scatter cherries on top. Bake 30 minutes or until batter is golden brown and puffy. Serve warm with pouring cream or custard.
Bon appétit !
Thanks, Mollie, I agree that it’s much nicer with a lighter batter. Enjoy!
This sounds lovely, and a really good idea to lighten-up the batter. Delish!