Claufotis

Claufotis

Pronounced "clau" as in cloud minus the d and "foi" rhyming with boy, this flan style dish dates back to 1866 from the Limousin region.  It is a peasant dish that was made during the cherry season.

These days, every part of France has its own version, using fruits such as apricots, apples, plums and pears, whatever fruits are in season.

Traditionally, cherries were used with the pits intact, as it was stated that they pits added a bitter, almost almond flavor during cooking.  Some areas add a dash of armagnac or rum to the mix.

Pitted cherries

In my first attempt, I decided to pit the cherries so that I could try the task of pitting cherries (I've never pitted anything before) and so that guests did not have to spit the pits out. 

  

Pitting the cherries was a messy task, and a lot of the juice was lost during this process.  I can see why the pits were traditionally left in.  Much of the flavor would be lost if the cherries were pitted.

 









Claufotis is basically a batter that is baked with fruit mixed into it until it resembles a baked custard. It is served either warm or cool with a creme anglaise after being dusted in icing sugar.

First Attempt

Some of the tips and tricks out there include dusting the cherries with flour before adding them to the batter.  This stops them from sinking to the bottom of the dish, a tip that proved very useful.


Another is to pour 5cm of batter into the dish you plan to use and place it on the stove top until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish.  This is meant to aid the baking process, but I did not find it useful.

First attempt post baking

The first attempt was not good.  The flavor was great but I think I added too many cherries.  Also, the dish I used, whilst it was an appropriate size for the amount of batter the recipe yielded, was too deep.

I had to add a further 15 minutes to the cooking time, and left it in the oven whilst it was switched off and still warm.  Even with these modifications, the center of the claufotis was considerably softer than the outer rim.

 

Second attempt

My second attempt produced a smoother batter and I managed to remember to use less cherries.  As I had already pitted all the cherries I'd bought, I used pitted cherries for this batch too.



I also changed the dish I was to bake it in, using one that was more shallow.  As this left me with some batter, I decided to see how the claufotis would fair as an individual sized dish.  

Second attempt large size

The large dish turned out great.  The inner portion was less brown, but set beautifully with a custard like consistency.

Individual Portion

The smaller pudding also turned out great.  If anything, I filled the dish too much which caused the pudding to overflow.

Perfect Consistency

The claufotis is done when it is puffed and brown and a knife plunged into it comes out clean.  

Whilst I enjoyed learning this dish, it is not technically challenging.  It really is a peasant dish, the kind of dish you would make on a lazy winters day.  

Ingredients:

125 g plain flour, sifted
125 g corn flour, sifted
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
200 g caster sugar
250 ml milk
250 ml thickened cream
500 g pitted cherries
sifted icing sugar to top

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.  Grease and flour an ovenproof dish.

Mix the flour and cornflour a large bowl.  Make a well in the center.

Beat the eggs and yolks together and pour them into the well.  Add the sugar and combine all the ingredients slowly.  

Add the milk and cream and mix to form a batter.

Pour the mixture into the dish.  Sprinkle the cherries (dusted with flour) into the batter.

Bake for 40 minutes, until a light golden color.  Allow to cool, then dust with icing sugar before serving.