Gooseberry Red Current and Blueberry Clafoutis

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September is already knocking on our doors! Can you believe it? I am not ready for it quite yet. I still have so many great summer recipes cued up on my hard-drive. I have sweet treats with red currents, raspberries and peaches and savory bites with tomatoes and zucchini to share with you. But I am seeing the first signs of Autumn in the markets. Figs, plums, apples and grapes are all beckoning me to play with them.


I'm going to try and squeeze a few of the late summer recipes in the next few posts, then I'll be turning my attention to those lovely figs I saw at the market and the crate of plums and apples I brought back from my dear mother-in-law. The rest will have to wait till next summer!
In my last clafoutis post I mentioned that several friends and neighbors were sharing there homegrown produce with me in the hope of getting to sample a few creations from me. A large part of the produce I used to make clafoutis of different sorts - sweet and savory.
Easy, simple and very satisfying are all words I associate with clafoutis and always perfect for gatherings. This clafoutis uses lovely red currents, gooseberries and blueberries from my mother-in-laws garden. She grows so many wonderful produce in her garden and green-house, that a visit always ensures crates full of fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables.

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My girlfriends and I have a monthly ritual. We get together once a month to cook, chatter and enjoy each others company. Girls only! It's a lot of fun and over prosecco or wine we giggle, chat and gossip about what ever is currently in. The rules are simple the host girlfriend selects the cuisine and organizes the groceries. One girlfriend is assigned the dessert, which she is in charge of organizing everything required for it. On the evening we all gather around in the kitchen and cook up something live - no recipes, no cookbooks. Just make the best out of the available ingredients. Trust me after a few glasses of cocktails or prosecco you produce a few creative and sometimes unique dishes - but always delicious! Usually, if I am not the host, I am assigned the dessert.
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As this month my fridge was bursting with berries there was really only one way to go - a berry dessert. And as clafoutis makes everyone happy, it was an instant winner. I added a couple of tablespoons of polenta into the batter for a crisper and crunchier batter. The result was a soft and fluffy clafoutis with a juicy, sweet and tart melody of berries and a slightly crispier texture. 
GooseberryClafoutis-Recipe Card Kopie


Gooseberry Red Current & Blueberry Clafoutis


[Printable version of recipe here]
Ingredients
400g mixed berries – gooseberries, red currents and blueberries
130g all-purpose flour
20g fine polenta
60g muscovado sugar + extra to sprinkle
2 eggs lightly beaten
200ml milk
2 tablespoons crème fraîche
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
40g butter, melted


Method
  1. Preheat oven the oven to 200 degrees C. Brush a wide, shallow ovenproof dish with some of the butter.

  2. In a large bowl mix half of the milk, all of the crème fraîche and eggs, then add the flour. Once it starts to thicken add the rest of the milk, sugar, polenta and cinnamon.

  3. Pour in the melted butter and whisk until incorporated.

  4. Spread half of the berries in the dish, then pour the batter over the top. Finally top with the remaining berries.

  5. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

  6. Sprinkle with extra sugar and serve warm.
Sticky Note Serving Tip
We enjoyed this with some great vanilla ice cream à la David Lebovitz, which I had made earlier that week. It’s a spectacular creamy and rich ice cream that works so well with the warm clafoutis. But if you cannot make your own vanilla ice cream then store bought works too.
A thick vanilla sauce would also work wonderfully with this clafoutis, which you could also slightly warm up.

Verdict
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A scoop of bourbon vanilla ice cream and a large spoonful of this warm clafoutis is such a pleasurable way to end a lovely dinner. There was a burst of explosive flavor when the warm clafoutis paired with the cold ice cream hit the tastebuds. The girls just devoured every last bit, digging into the succulent berries with the creamy batter. On girls nights our men decide to spend the evening elsewhere; this time barbecuing. I had made them a nice portion of the clafoutis too - after their cheeky comments "we men do not need dessert - just meat!" I had to smirk when the form came home empty!

You might like these clafoutis from WFLH:
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Apricot Clafoutis Raspberry and Nectarine Clafoutis
  DTtip6
Daily Tiffin Reading Tip
 Vegetarian Pyramid Series – Kamut written by Dhivya


All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2009 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
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23 comments:

  1. Wow, that beautiful clafoutis is to die for! It contains all the berries I adore!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. wow this looks so colourful and yummy. Summer fruits is so delicious!
    Visit my new blog at http://snookysrecipedoodles.blogspot.com/

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  3. hon, if you moved here you'd become an immediate member of our stitch-n-bitch group :) no stitching necessary - just lots of great food. beautiful clafoutis!

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  4. Das Beeren Clafoutis sieht superlecker aus, wie alles auf deinem Blog... Grüße aus der Blogland-Nachbarschaft... Anja

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  5. Thats a lovely recipe. A nice way to use up the berries. Bookmarked!

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  6. I am very very drooly out here:-) Look at those colors!

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  7. WOW, so gorgeous!!!! This sounds amazing!

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  8. Great version Meeta...funily enough I made my first clafoutis recently using cherries (which are not in season here...but you can still buy!). Love all the berries and what a great little "club" you and your girlfriends have!

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  9. They are so tempting Meeta! They look so colourful and inviting. :-)

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  10. Is that my portion you have taken out there? :)

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  11. the most beautiful clafoutis I ever seen! (and believe me I have seen many of them)

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  12. Bursting with colors and I bet bursting with flavors too!!!

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  13. Wonderful group of gal pals...lol, the stich-n-bitch group lol. Beautiful clafoutis! Stunning! Are gooseberries tart? Same as amla?

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  14. i knew you all would like this one. thanks for your comments.

    Jen - if i moved there i'd be 20 kilos heavier with the food we'd make between the two of us. but I#d do it to be able to see you!

    anja - vielen dank!

    peter - i am looking forward to the cherry clafoutis. and if you bring it over you can join us on girls nite!

    cynthia - you coming? i'm waiting for ya!

    deeba - yes gooseberries are tart and very similar to amla!

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  15. Meeta, this clafoutis is stunning! I love the mixed berries! And I laughed about the he-men not needing dessert! Who wouldn't just love this clafoutis?

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  16. gorgeous! i always am in awe of your food photo skills

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  17. This is soo beautiful!! Berries galore! Who wouldn't devour it? Your girls night sounds really interesting :) Haha I love when men have to eat their words :P :P

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  18. Wonderful amazing berries! Your clafoutis is so full of color and looks delicious!

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  19. Hi!! Delicious clafoutis and wonderful pic!!

    Ana

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  20. I love how it looks studded with jewels.

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  21. I have seen so many clafoutis around here, but this is the first savory one I've come across. Looks nice!

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  22. Hi meeta,
    I have always been an admirer of ur pics and posts and thought how wonderful u make every single post!!!They are too too too good....They look 100% better than the one u see for real!!!I was wondering how you take those beautiful pics.....I dont have a clue!!Other day I dragged my husband who is not much into food pics and blogs to look at ur pics and was going thru so many of ur pics and he was amazed too, and told me "she really knows how to take pics:)". I think he indirectly meant I dono how to take pics;)....Now, Would you mind answering if I ask you few questions on the photography?;)...I have been asking the same questions to few people and nobody wants 2 answer:( I dono y...

    Thx,
    shabs.

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Thank you for visiting What's For Lunch, Honey? and taking time to browse through my recipes, listen to my ramblings and enjoy my photographs. I appreciate all your comments, feedback and input. I will answer your questions to my best knowledge and respond to your comments as soon as possible.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy your stay here and that I was able to make this an experience for your senses.

Hugs
Meeta