Saskatoon Berry Clafoutis

Clafoutis is wonderful, nearly fool-proof stuff. The batter is phenomenally easy – especially if you have a blender!

• 3 large eggs
• 1.25 cups milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar

To Finish/Bake

• 1 tbsp butter for greasing the pan
• 1 tbsp sugar for sprinkling in the pan (see instructions)
• 250 g saskatoon berries about 1 cup (see note)
• 2 tbsp ground/crushed almonds fresh (see note)
• powdered sugar (optional)
• candied lemon peel (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat an oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. Place all of the batter ingredients into a blender. Blend until well combined. (Alternatively, place everything into a bowl and blend thoroughly by hand or with a mixer).
3. Grease a large cast iron frying pan, pie plate, or similar dish with butter. Sprinkle the reserved 1 tbsp of sugar evenly over the butter.
4. Pour the batter into the pan, then sprinkle the saskatoon berries evenly throughout the mixture.
5. Crumble the ground almonds all over the surface of the clafoutis, then place in the oven. Bake until the the clafoutis is puffy (especially around the edges) and nicely browned on top – about 35-40 minutes. To check if it’s done, remove it from the oven and gently wiggle the pan. It should shake softly, but not look overly liquid. You can also pierce the center with a knife to ensure that it’s set.
6. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with candied lemon peel (if desired) and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

1. You can use fresh or frozen saskatoon berries. If using frozen, don’t defrost them as they’ll ‘bleed’ more into the batter. Adjust the cooking time a little if necessary to account for the colder fruit.
2. For best flavour, I buy blanched almonds and grind a small amount with a spice or coffee grinder. You could also crush them in a sturdy bag with a rolling pin. You can substitute almond flour if you like, though the flavour is likely to be somewhat less pronounced. If you want or need to avoid using nuts you can omit the almonds entirely. Likewise, if you’re substituting for a different fruit, feel free to include or exclude the almond as you see fit (they’re excellent with cherries, but less important with blueberries, for example).

Substitutions and Variations

If you can’t find saskatoons, you can use any fruit that you might like (sweet cherries are the classic fruit to use in a true French clafoutis). The batter is quite versatile and easily adapted to anything you might have on hand. For a similar look (but very different flavour) substitute fresh blueberries.