Happy Pi Day!
Pi and Pie have a similar place in my heart:
There are other things on which I'd rather spend my time.
Here's one of them:
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| Behold. |
Clafouti (not Pie)
Butter a 9- or 10-inch tart dish (or a pie pan or 6 medium ramekins), and dust it evenly with sugar. Beat three eggs with 1/3 cup sugar (white, brown or powdered -- each is delicious!) until it is light and fluffy. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups milky stuff (I've used skim, whole, cream, soy, almond, Greek yogurt, sour cream and strange combinations of the above -- universally divine!). Add 6 Tablespoons flour (I've only tried white, but I've seen it done with almond and rice flours, and once in a pinch I used a chunk of Danish marzipan -- winning!). Add something to make it interesting, like: juice of half a lemon (or a quarter grapefruit), zest of a whole lemon (or lime), a tablespoon of good bourbon vanilla (and/or a splash of brandy), and a pinch of kosher salt. Beat it all together for several minutes until it resembles fragrant clouds (or pancake batter). Set it aside and turn your oven to 375.
While the oven is heating, tend to your fruit. Any fruit will do. I like cherries, pears and berries, but my absolute favorite are small Italian plums, which are lush and sweet and even more gorgeous to eat than they are to look at. Of course, Italian plums are really best if you get them in season. And in Italy. And, while we're at it, clafouti is really best when it's baked in the South of France in early September with the windows open. But last Sunday it was raining cats and dogs and we used a bag of frozen peaches and it was still pretty dang good....
ANYWAY -- Arrange your fruit (sliced, if appropriate) so it's pretty in the bottom of the sugared pan, dollop the batter over the top and pop it in the over for about 40 minutes, or until the custard is set and the top is golden. Clafouti is delicious and not overly-sweet straight from the oven. If you want even more fun, adorn the top with powdered sugar, whipped cream, creme fraiche, creme anglaise or Greek yogurt whipped with honey. Or anything that strikes your fancy. I love how versatile this recipe is -- you can make it light or decadent, and adapt it for seasonal fruit all year long; every incarnation is a delectable adventure. Seriously -- I think if it were possible to make a bad clafouti, I certainly would have succeeded by now...
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| In other news, Momo sent the Princess a new umbrella. She loves to play with it -- wide open -- inside the house. I am happy to report that her charmed life appears unaltered, despite her reckless, fortune-tempting ways. She also likes to sleep with it. |
