I’d never made a clafoutis before this one. I didn’t even know how to pronounce it. (I’m still not sure.) They looked good whenever I came across any in a recipe book – and simple too. I wanted to make one to share after our Sunday morning church meeting. We always have coffee and tea with cakes and biscuits. It’s not a formal sit-down time. Most people stand and chat while eating, so I needed to make something more substantial, more “holdable”. I decided it needed a base.

Makes: About 12 – 15 slices

Level: Very easy – with or without the biscuit base

Time: About 30 minutes for the base + cooling. 35 – 40 minutes for the actual clafoutis.

Need: a 23cm flan dish or tin. (If you’re just making the clafoutis then don’t use a loose bottomed tin, but if you want a biscuit base then I definitely recommend using a flan tin with a loose or removable bottom.)

The original ingredients

A little oil or softened butter for greasing the tin
375g mixed berries or cherries or a mixture
50g ground almonds
30g plain flour
100g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
250ml double cream

The original method for just the clafoutis

1. Heat oven to 180°C / fan 160°C / 350°F / Gas 5. Oil or butter a 23cm flan dish or tin and scatter the berries over the base.

2. Whizz all the batter ingredients in a blender until smooth, pour it over the fruits and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown.

For my biscuit based version

Ingredients for the batter – as above, but I also added a tsp of vanilla extract. I considered also adding ½ tsp of almond extract, but decided not to because I thought it would be too dominant. As I wanted the finished clafoutis to be quite firm I also used 25g plain flour with 7g corn flour. This was only a minor change and it may not have made much difference.

Ingredients and Method for the biscuit base

275g biscuits (I use oaty crunch biscuits or hobnobs; others would be OK.)
90g melted butter
20ml golden syrup
Some egg white (the clafoutis recipe requires egg yolks so you will have some whites left over.)
For the fruit I used mainly de-stoned fresh cherries with a few raspberries to make up the weight, that came out of the freezer. A mixture of blueberries and raspberries would work well too.

Method for the base

1. Turn the oven on to 180°C / fan 160°C / 350°F / Gas 5. Use a loose bottomed flan tin. Butter the fluted sides really well and add a circle of baking parchment to fit inside.

2. Bash or whizz the biscuits until fine. Melt the butter and golden syrup, taking care not to boil or burn them.

3. Stir the melted butter into the biscuit crumbs and mix well. Press this mixture into the prepared flan tin. Carefully but firmly work the mixture up the sides of the tin and gently press into the fluted parts.

4. Brush the inside with egg white (to seal the surface) then bake for about 8 – 12 minutes. Take it out and leave to cool. (You could keep it in the fridge overnight and add the rest the next day.)

5. The clafoutis mixture is the same as for the original, plus the addition of vanilla extract and a little corn flour. Place the fruit onto the biscuit base then gently add the mixture. I found that I had more than enough, but it was OK to fill the lined flan tin right to the brim. It didn’t bubble or rise over. I put the flan tin on a circular metal pizza baking tray and used that to lift it all into the oven. This was a great help to avoid spillage and also worth doing just in case it bubbled over.

6. The bake time was a lot longer than for the original non-biscuit base version. I had it in the oven for 25 minutes then another 5 minutes then another 5 minutes then a couple more. I checked the colour each time and felt the middle. I wanted a golden brown colour with a firm but not fully set middle. To summarise – bake for 30 – 36 minutes, but check along the way.

7. Once baked, leave in the tin for at least 15 – 20 minutes then ease it out gently. When you cut it, use a sharp serrated knife otherwise the fruit might get squashed and not be cut neatly.

I hope I haven’t waffled on too much and this has been of use to you. I’d love to hear your opinion of all this, so please let me know via the contact page. Click here for the home page.

Here’s a special one I made for a friend who can’t have gluten or lactose in her diet.

Need: As above – a 23cm flan dish with a loose or removable bottom.

Ingredients for the biscuit base

275g gluten free biscuits /gluten free muesli (whizzed until fine)/polenta
90g melted vegan (non-dairy) spread
20ml golden syrup
An egg white (the clafoutis recipe requires egg yolks so you will have some whites left over.)

Method for the base

1. Turn the oven on to 180°C / fan 160°C / 350°F / Gas 5. Oil the fluted sides of the flan tin really well and add a circle of baking parchment to fit inside.

2. Bash or whizz the biscuits until fine. Grind the muesli until fine. Mix these together. Melt the spread and golden syrup, taking care not to boil or burn them.

3. Stir the melted spread into the biscuit/muesli crumbs and mix well. Press this mixture into the prepared flan tin. Carefully, but firmly, work the mixture up the sides of the tin and gently press into the fluted parts.

The Clafoutis ingredients

375g berries or cherries or a mixture (you may need less, don’t overfill the base)
50g ground almonds
30g plain gluten free flour
1 tsp xanthan gum powder
100g golden caster sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
250ml Dairy free vegan ”cream”
1 tsp vanilla extract

The method for the clafoutis

5. Heat oven to 180°C / fan 160°C / 350°F / Gas 5. Spread the berries evenly over the biscuit base. (My cherries were very large so I cut them in half. This meant they weren’t visible when the clafoutis had been baked, but I was OK with that.)

6. Beat all the other ingredients with an electric mixer (or with a wooden spoon) until smooth, pour it over the fruits and bake for 25-35 min or until risen and golden brown.

7. Once baked, leave in the tin for at least 15 – 20 minutes or even longer, then ease it out gently and place on a suitable plate or cake stand to serve. (A dusting with icing sugar is an optional extra.)