Pear Clafoutis
It might sound peculiar to claim that a recipe's main issue is its striking appearance, yet that's precisely the situation with this pear clafoutis—a crustless custard fruit tart that often appears sweeter and richer than it truly is. Traditionally prepared with cherries, this rustic French dessert seamlessly accommodates various seasonal fruits. For an added touch, consider brushing the top with warmed fruit preserves and honey, and serve with whipped cream, crème fraîche, or ice cream if desired.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, divided
- 3 large eggs
- ⅓ cup white sugar, or to taste
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups thinly sliced sweet, ripe pears
- ½ cup toasted sliced almonds
- ½ tablespoon white sugar, or as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10-inch baking dish generously with 1 tablespoon butter.
- Whisk eggs, 1/3 cup sugar, milk, salt, nutmeg, vanilla extract, almond extract, and flour together in a bowl.
- Reserve 12 to 14 pear slices for topping; add remaining pear slices to the prepared baking dish. Pour egg custard mixture over pears in the baking dish and top with almonds. Shake and tap the dish gently on the countertop to let mixture settle. Lay reserved pear slices flat on top. Melt remaining butter and brush over pears. Sprinkle with 1/2 tablespoon sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven until top is golden, fruit is soft, and custard is set, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before serving or serve chilled.
Notes
- You can make this sweeter with more sugar, or richer with some cream instead of all milk, but there’s something to be said for those rare recipes that I would describe as just sweet enough. You can also use slivered almonds instead of sliced, if you’d like.
- Taste whatever fruit you’re using for sweetness, since you may want to adjust the sugar level based on that. Another key point, especially if you’re using pears or apples, is to make sure you slice them thinly, so they cook through by the time your custard is cooked.
- As I mentioned you could cook the fruit first, but I’ll leave that up to you. If you use the traditional cherries, or something like tender juicy berries, this will actually cook faster than the time given here, so I’d start checking for doneness after 25 to 30 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 218kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 6gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 115mgPotassium: 192mgFiber: 3gSugar: 16gVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 77mgIron: 1mg
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