Jamie Oliver's Peach Clafoutis - Easy, Homey, Delish!

Its not everyday that you stumble upon a recipe which is super easy to make, does not have a load of fat, barely any flour, comes together in 10 minutes and bakes in 15.  A simple yet satisfying homey kind of dessert you want to eat when you crave something sweet. Made with the most basic pantry staples, this clafoutis is something I could easily fall into the habit of making. On a busy week day or on a lazy weekend, this is one of the easiest desserts you could bake. A scoop of ice cream or some whipped cream will make this good enough for company too! 

Ever since I baked Tartine's Clafoutis, I have been trying more recipes of this French dessert. That was a slightly more substantial one, but delicious nonetheless! The custard lover that I am, clafoutis with lesser flour is a welcome addition to the dessert repertoire.

I don't normally stock canned fruit, but now I think its not a bad idea to have a can or two to bake desserts like this on a whim. Store cupboard versions as Jamie calls them. Seasonal fruit like cherries, berries, plums or even apples should work good. I know you have heard this before  I would anytime prefer eating fruit fresh to those cooked to any degree. But since fruit does add appeal to dessert, I like baking in ramekins as it reduces the baking time drastically. You could bake the clafoutis in a large oven proof dish, but then the fruit will be quite mushy. You could even skip the fruit and make a plain version, so what if we can't then call it a clafoutis? 

Peach Clafoutis. Recipe here

Ingredients: To make about 8 half cup servings

Canned peaches, drained - 200 grams ( 1 small tin, I used Del Monte)

Salt - a tiny pinch

Eggs - 144 grams / 3 large

Whole milk - 450 ml (3.5 - 4% fat)
Caster Sugar - 100 grams 

Plain flour - 24 grams / 3 tablespoons

Butter - 50 grams  (I skipped this)

Confectioner's sugar - for dusting on top

Ice cream or whipped cream to serve (optional)

 Method 

• Pre heat oven to 220 C / 425 F.

• Lightly butter 8-10  half cup /120 ml capacity ramekins. Cut the peach halves into 3 pieces each. Arrange two of these pieces in each of the ramekins. Place the ramekins in a large tray, spaced about an inch apart.

• Take the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt in a medium sized bowl. Whisk lightly to combine. We do not want to introduce air by vigorous whisking. Slowly whisk in the flour a tablespoon at a time. If there are any tiny lumps, rub between your fingers to smoothen. (Eeks? Please tell me if you have a better way to do this!) 

• Warm the milk so its barely warm (think you are warming milk to set yogurt in summer), this was 106 F on my thermometer. Err on the side of the milk being less warm than it being hot as the eggs may curdle. 

• Whisk the warm milk gently into the egg mixture. Pour it over the peaches in the ramekins.  The ramekins will be 3/4 full. 

• Bake about 13-15 minutes or till the custard is set but has a slight wobble when you shake it. To test, check at 13 minutes. Let the ramekins remain in the oven. Shake one ramekin gently to see if looks set but has a slight wobble like jelly. If it looks runny, bake 2 minutes more. If in doubt, err on the side of under baking. The clafoutis will puff up a bit and then deflate. 

• Remove the tray from the oven. Carefully transfer the ramekins on to a cooling rack. Let cool completely. Though this is eaten warm with a dusting of confectioner's sugar, I like clafoutis best at room temperature. Dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve with ice cream or cream. 

Please note:

The original recipe uses 3 tablespoons sugar in the batter and 3 tablespoons dusted on top. I have used more and all in the batter.

You could use lesser sugar if using more fruit as that would make the dessert sweeter. Jamie uses a 400 gram can (almost double). I have used less fruit as I like it to be more of custard.

Do not use powdered sugar in the batter as it will clump. 

If baking the clafoutis without fruit, fill the ramekins 3/4 way up. Check at around 15 minutes. The baking time will vary depending on the size of the baking dish / ramekin.

Even if you have never baked custard before, this should be easy enough to try. Very little effort, safe and good as long as you do not over bake. From inspiration to the table in 30 minutes, don't you think this is worth a try?

Cafe Au Lait Pots De Crème

For someone who believes in coffee smelling like freshly ground heaven, the new year can't begin with an  aroma better than that from Cafe Au Lait Pots De Crème! An easy, quick yet impressive make ahead dessert that can't fail to please coffee lovers. Smooth and creamy with a pleasant caffeine kick, what's not to love? 

I so wanted to bake a cake for my husband's birthday on Saturday, but could not with the vacations and the kids' exams approaching. Makes me feel guilty to spend time in my baking kitchen. Oh yes, along with being a joy, having a separate baking space has its pitfalls too!

A meal out to celebrate not withstanding, a birthday must have at least a home-made dessert if not a cake. Saturday morning saw me wake up early, sip my huge mug of coffee and rush to buy some whole milk and eggs for the baked custards. And before the rest of the family woke up, I had these little pots of coffee cream cooling on the table. Oh joy! Wish every day of mine could begin with baking! 

Making a simple egg based custard or Creme Anglaise, Cream Patissière and then baked custards like Chocolate Pots De Creme and Caramel Custard  is something that absolutely must be tried and learnt. You can make quite a few desserts once you get comfortable with the basics, the versatility of custard is truly amazing! Don't even think you could do a custard powder something in an attempt to replicate these, if you ask me, egg based custard is the way to go!

Melissa d' Arabian's recipe from Food Network here.

New to baking? Check out my workshops for beginners, click here! 

Ingredients:

• Whole milk - 180 ml / 3/4 cup 
• Heavy cream - 120 ml / 1/2 cup ( I used Amul, 25% fat)
• Sugar, granulated - 50 grams / 4 tablespoons / 1/4 cup
• Instant coffee - 1 tablespoon
• Pure vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon
• Egg - 1 whole / 48 grams 
• Egg yolks - 36 grams / 2 yolks

Procedure: Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C / 325 F. First let's get ready

• Assemble a medium sized, thick bottomed saucepan with a handle, 2 large heat proof vessels (one to whisk the eggs and temper the mixture in, another to strain the mixture into) a fine meshed strainer. A couple of spoons, a spatula. Small oven proof bowls (I used 125 ml capacity ramekins) . Do keep the serving size small as its a rich dessert.

• Have some very hot water on sim on your stove, better more than less. A tea kettle will be perfect! The water has to come halfway up the ramekins when you keep them in the baking tin.  
• Suspend the strainer over one of the large bowls (You should be able to easily pour the custard from this into the ramekins). 

• A baking tin, I used a 10'' by 7'' tin to keep 5 ramekins. A 9'' square tin should work too. Place a small kitchen towel to cover the bottom of the tin,  then place the ramekins in the baking tin. Use a tin which will fit the ramekins without crowding them in, but not too much empty space otherwise. This is particularly important if baking in a convection microwave as your ramekins will swim in the water as the turntable rotates.  Have on hand a pair of mittens or thick kitchen towels and a ladle.

        Method:

• Preheat oven to 160 degrees C / 325 degrees F. In one of the bowls, whisk the egg yolks and the egg. Set aside (do not leave it sitting for too long as a film will develop over the yolks). 
• Heat the milk,  cream, vanilla, the coffee and sugar until just boiling. Taste. Add more coffee or sugar to your preference. Remember that the sweetness will be just a bit lesser later with the inclusion of egg and then the chilling. 
• Very gradually, little by little, using the ladle, dribble in the hot coffee mixture into the egg, whisk constantly. Do not hurry this process or the eggs may curdle. 
• Strain the custard through the strainer into the other bowl. This helps remove any bits of uncooked egg giving you a smoother custard.
• Pour the custard into the ramekins a little below the line under the rim, the custard doesn't rise, just sets . Pour the hot water very carefully in the baking tin such that it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins.(You are supposed to first place the baking tin the oven and then pour the hot water, but this is not possible in my small oven or even the microwave, the rack may tilt in the process). Get that tea kettle out if you have one! 
• Open the oven door. Now place the tray carefully in the oven. Bake the custard in the water bath for about 20-25 minutes or until the sides are set but the center is jiggly (like jelly) when you shake the ramekins gently).  Check around 20 minutes. The time varies depending on the ramekin size.
• Do not over bake or your custard may turn rubbery or 'weep'. (please read note below). Err on the side of under baking rather than over baking. 
• Remove from the water bath and cool to room temperature. The recipe directs to place the ramekins after baking in cold water, must try next time! Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set and chilled.

Please note : The baking time is very important for the best texture of the custards. The custard  may appear to need more baking (but it should not be liquid or gooey)  if you spoon out some when warm, but it will set well on refrigeration. So slight under-baking is better than over-baking. 

Chill for at least 3-4 hours or even better overnight or even a day! This will allow the custard to set well and the flavors mature.

I baked these in my small 14 liter OTG as my microwave sits in my baking kitchen. Two of the custards had a bit of liquid on top after refrigeration, suspect this is the 'weeping'. The other 3 had no liquid on top. Blame the uneven temperature in the tiny oven. Otherwise even the weeping ones were perfectly smooth and creamy, no complaints at all, so I guess I could live with it!

We enjoyed the dessert, my daughter who normally does't like anything with coffee, licked her ramekin clean! Cafe Au Lait Pots De Creme,  you have won over a six year old too!