Clafoutis Type of Dessert From Bottega in Yountville CA

Earlier this year I tasted a Clafoutis Dessert at Michael Chiarello’s Restaurant Bottega.  I thought it was the best new dessert I tasted this year. It’s not too sweet and it’s light and rich at the same time. I like that this dessert features fruit. The batter is described as a flan sort of recipe but it taste sort of like rich, airy, custard-like, smooth pancakes.

So I found Michael Chiarello’s Recipe for Apple Clafoutis on Foodnetwork.com and decided to make my first Clafoutis.

Apple Clafoutis

It came out very light, the lightest of the clafoutis I tried and tasty. I did look for other recipes for Clafoutis and they all differ a bit.

The traditional flavor for Clafoutis is Cherry with the pits. The pits give off a flavor that enhances the dessert. But today nobody leaves the pits in.

I found a recipe for Cherry Clafoutis from Chef Raymond Blanc. He owns a two star Michelin Star Restaurant/Hotel and is one of Britain’s most respected Chefs.

I didn’t use the proper cherries but other than that I followed his recipe and came out with this.

It’s still light and rich at the same time. The ingredients are slightly richer and uses more butter with more flavor because the butter is toasted and poured in warm.  A slight layer of crust is formed from buttering and dusting the baking dish with sugar. You also count the drops of vanilla you use and lemon zest brightens the fruit.  Other than that the only interesting differences is that only castor sugar is recommended as a garnish and the dessert should be served shortly after it comes out of the oven. The Clafoutis should always be served warm.

All the Clafoutis were good and all were different.

Found a recipe on BBC that they say is Gordon Ramsey’s for a Clafoutis….His differs and involves ground Almonds in the batter and is an even richer recipe.  I might try that one in a few weeks.

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