Clafoutis

Despite a mouthful of fillings, I don’t really have a sweet tooth and so tend not to delve into the sugary world of desserts, afters and puds. However, we had a friend over for a boozy Sunday lunch and this Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall-Clafoutis-Recipe had caught my eye in the Guardian the day before.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 – 35 minutes
Skill level: Easy
Serves: 4 – 6

Ingredients

• caster sugar – 75g
• plain flour – 45g
• milk – 400ml
• 1 vanilla pod
• 3 eggs – lightly whisked
• unsalted butter – 20g
• cherries – stones left in – 300g
• icing sugar – for dusting

Start by preheating the oven to 200C (gas mark 6)

Put the pan/cake tin you are going to use to make the clafoutis into the oven to heat up.

Pour the milk into a saucepan, split the vanilla pod and add to the milk, then warm through on a low heat. Put aside to cool.

Fold the sugar and flour into the whisked egg and then add the milk.

Scrape the vanilla pod seeds into this batter mixture and stir.

Remove the pan from the oven and grease with some butter. Pour in the batter mixture and scatter the cherries over.

Dot with a little butter and cook in the oven for 25-35 minutes until puffed up and golden.

Dust with icing sugar and eat immediately.

Verdict: Hmmm, this is a bit like a sweet omlette. Mmmm, it’s very tasty though. Leave any left uneaten in the fridge overnight and it goes soggy and sticky (not in anyway a criticism).

Drink: Beer then rosé then red then beer again.

Entertainment: Drinking pints outside the Palm Tree and being slightly unnerved by this hot, sticky but somehow still overcast and slightly dark summer we are having.