Recipe: Clafoutis

This baked custardy treat is better than pancakes, waffles, french toast, or any other carby thing you might make for breakfast. And it’s even good for dessert.

Years ago, I visited a friend on her farm in Utah. In the morning, she made me something I’d never had before: clafoutis. It’s a baked dish with simple ingredients topped with fruit. She made it with duck eggs, but regular eggs will do.

Here’s my recipe for two, adapted from a recipe in Epicurious.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup milk. The original recipe called for whole milk, but I only carry 2% on board and the recipe comes out fine.
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sugar.
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. This may be omitted if you don’t have any.
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup berries or sliced fruit, such as strawberries, raspberries, pitted cherries, blackberries, blueberries, or ripe pears. I personally like raspberries, strawberries, or a mix of either berry with blueberries. And yes, I suppose you could use defrosted frozen berries, although my freezer is so small I can’t carry those on board.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Mix all ingredients except the fruit.
3. Pour the mixture into a pan. The original recipe and my friend use a cast iron skillet. I just used a non-stick skillet with an oven proof handle. The mixture should half-fill the pan — no more.
4. Sprinkle the fruit evenly over the top of the mixture.
5. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. The batter will get fluffy and golden. It’s done when it’s no longer wet in the middle, although I like it moist and custardy.
6. Serve immediately.