This is one of those “accidental” recipe finds, discovered while browsing comments on The Pioneer Woman’s website. PW posted a photo blog of fabulous strawberry recipe photos (many of which made me weep with joy), but it was the first comment posted that really grabbed my attention. Sydney B posted a link to a strawberry clafouti recipe. A strawberry what?!? Clafouti. That’s klah-FOO-tee. Say it with me. “Klah-FOO-tee.” I like it! It sounds like a party in a Pyrex. Reminds me of KC & the Sunshine Band. It’s got me singing, “Shake shake shake…. shake shake shake… shake clafouti. Shake clafouti.” Let’s see if that’s not stuck in your head the rest of the day, right? But what IS a clafouti, really? I needed to know.
“Clafouti, is a baked French dessert of black cherries (or other fruit) arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. The clafouti is dusted with powdered sugar and served lukewarm.”
There. Now we know. So back to Sydney B’s link. It took me to www.shutterbean.com, where I discovered the easiest berry dessert I’ve ever made. And since I love berries and I love custards, this has the potential to become my go-to throw-down company’s coming dessert-in-a-hurry recipe. Thank you, Tracy the Shutterbean!
Here’s how easy this recipe is. For the record, it calls for strawberries, but I threw in some raspberries, too. Basically, you butter a glass baking dish. Toss your fruit with 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and arrange them in the bottom of the dish. Combine the other ingredients in a blender and whiz for 15 seconds. (I didn’t want to dig out my blender, so I used a mixing bowl and a whisk – old school style). Pour the mixture over the fruit and bake it until the center is set and the top is lightly browned. Remove it from the oven, sprinkle it with powdered sugar, and serve it warm. Done. Can you believe it? Seriously… from start to finish, it took 10 minutes to pop this into the oven. To see Tracy’s step-by-step photos and recipe, click here. You won’t be sorry.
If you love summer berries and creamy custards, you should try this. I will give you a few tips. Use really ripe, sweet strawberries. If your strawberries are really large, cut them into bite-size pieces. If you add raspberries like I did, increase the sugar to 1/2 cup or it will be really tart. Other than that, this recipe is simple, easy to make, and bursting with the fabulous flavors of summer berries and vanilla. And that’s all I need. Well, that and the Strawberry Kiss Cake posted by Brooks the Cakewalker from the Pioneer Woman’s photo post mentioned above. Have mercy! If you make that one, I am SO coming over!
Inside NanaBread's Head 
Bless you!
Ha! Sounds like a sneeze to me! I do have to say I had a HUGE crush on KC – he looked like my first “true love” 10 years into the future…ok, 15 – we were BABIES! I thought I was so grown up and…wait, this is about a recipe, right?
Well, then…them there’s some good vittles right thar! OK, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Thank you for your undivided attention.
I’m doing expense reports, I’m bored….don’t judge me.
Now that song is stuck in my head…“Shake shake shake…. shake shake shake… shake clafouti. Shake clafouti”!! Ha! I’ll never hear the real words again…and that’s alright by me! :-) Thanks for the break from the Land of Monotony!
Sorry to do that to you, KJ! Just spreadin’ the love. The KC love.
What a coincidence! I caught a few minutes of the Barefoot Contessa on my lunch break this afternoon and she was making something very similar except she used some sort of wine in the custard. I wish I could remember the name, but I said to myself how yummy that looked with the fresh berries and anything with fresh berries had to be oh so low fat and healthy and maybe I should give it a try :) BTW, making your husbands flank steak sandwiches again for dinner tonight. Can’t thank you enough for sharing that one!
That is a coincidence! Summer berry season must be inspiring us all. I’ll tell TCP you’re making his sandwiches again. He’ll be pleased to know he’s created new soy-ginger steak sandwich addicts. Welcome to our support group!
I’ve made this with fresh plums and figs (Not together in the same dish. That might be weird. Kind of like a peach poodle mixing with a dalmation, not a thing of beauty) you should try it that way too. Mmmmmmm figgy goodness, drizzle with some good local honey instead of powder sugar.
That’s one weird hybrid pooch you’ve just described, Sister #4. I’m trying to get past that image to imagine this clafouti made with figs or plums. Sounds awesome to me. Peaches or apricots would be good, too. And I love the idea of drizzling it in honey instead of powdered sugar. Mmmmmmm…..
No apology necessary! You bring light into many fluorescent-lit worlds! Love the recipes!
That looks amazing! I am big fan of all things berries, and all things custard. So putting them together? And fast? LOVE that! My summer go to is usually berry creme brulee or pots de creme, but that is a bit more involved.
For the record, I totally wanted to marry KC. Him & Shaun Cassidy.
I never had a thing for KC of the Sunshine Band, but I sure ’nuff had a crush on Shaun Cassidy. As for desserts, I think I may just have to brulee, clafouti or homemade ice cream my way through all the summer fruits this year. Who’s with me?!?!
I’ve actually made one of these. The hardest part was pitting the fresh cherries! You know if I make it then it must be easy. Gotta try it with other berries now. Yum!
I’ve never pitted a cherry in my life, unless eating one and spitting out the pit counts. Maybe it’s due to the complete absence of cherries in our region, which is a real shame. I LOVE cherries. All varieties, in all forms. Luckily, berries and other fruit pair really well with the clafouti batter so we can’t claim to be deprived down here. Note: that’s deprIved, not deprAved.
God, delish! Do you reckon I could just do this with rhubarb? My Mom’s bushes are out of control and I’m due to harvest some this weekend. This would be a perfect way to make some of it disappear :)
I can’t think of any reason NOT to try it with rhubarb, unless it’s really tart. In that case, I would try cutting your rhubarb into bite-size pieces and macerating in sugar for a few hours (or even overnight) before mixing this up. Since the clafouti ingredients are so inexpensive, you really have nothing to lose by trying it. Let me know how it turns out!
I pretty much make everything you post, so I’ll probably eventually make this as well. Yummy!
Yeah, I saw your tie-dyed cupcake post. They looked great! Hope you like this one, too. Just save it for the next time you find a great deal on berries or cherries, then go for it! It’s so easy and inexpensive to make, it’s a total win-win. It would also work for breakfast, if you’re looking to impress Kiefer Southerland.
NanaBread, While I had seen the Clafouti comment over at Pioneer Woman, I glanced at the recipe link just long enough to learn what it was, not realizing how simple it was to make. Good of you to point out its French origin which began with cherries as its star. I say this because my thoughts lately have been centered around California’s cherry season which is poised to unveil its bounty. That, and an old David Bowie tune which was stuck in my head for the past two days has now been replaced by your updated KC ditty! Before I go, I want you to know what a dear you are for your kind nod to the Strawberry Kiss Cake…if ever we should meet, you know what I’ll have in hand to present to you. Thanks NanaBread!
Hi, Brooks!
I’ve had a cherry clafouti recipe stashed in my kitchen “recipes” drawer for years, but never made it. Probably because we’re not really in a cherry region. But seeing that link to Shutterbean’s strawberry version sparked my interest since strawberries are not only abundant here, but on sale this week (bonus!). I envy your California cherry season. I really do. I love, love, love cherries. As a Bowie fan from way back (I won’t say how way back), I apologize for embedding a new tune, but it makes me giggle to think of all of you sinking “shake clafouti” as you go about your day. Thank you for your kind offer of a Strawberry Kiss Cake if we should ever meet. If the opportunity ever arises, I would be honored to sit down for cake and coffee and hear more about your life-long love of baking.