Clafoutis are always a nice way to showcase fresh fruit in a dessert that is elegant, but easy to make. The custardy french dessert can be made with just about any kind of fruit, although it is traditionally made with cherries. I do like a cherry clafoutis, but I often save my cherries for pies, so I am much more likely to showcase other fruits when I bake one. Strawberry, peach and pear are just a few of my favorite flavors – and this version uses blueberries.
This Blueberry Buttermilk Clafoutis is a twist on my standard clafoutis recipe because it uses buttermilk, rather than the regular milk that I typically use. Buttermilk makes for a slightly thicker clafoutis batter and adds a warm buttery flavor to the base that is delicious with the ripe blueberries. I also added vanilla and a little lemon zest to the batter to highlight the berries. The dessert is not too sweet on its own and gets a lot of the sweetness from the fruit you use. If you need to sweeten it up a bit, sprinkle the top of the clafoutis with sugar before baking or dust it with confectioners’ sugar when you serve it.
Fresh, sweet blueberries are easy to incorporate into this dish because you can simply fold them in. Frozen berries can also be used. If you are opting for frozen, do not defrost the berries before using them. Instead, dust them with a teaspoon or two of all purpose flour to help prevent them from bleeding and turning your clafoutis pink, then fold them into the batter and bake as usual. The dish can be served slightly warm, at room temperature or chilled.
Blueberry Buttermilk Clafoutis
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon zest
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9-inch pie plate.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and lemon zest until very smooth. Add in flour mixture and whisk to combine. This can also be done in the food processor.
Add blueberries into filling mixture and gently stir to coat. Pour into prepared pie plate, shifting berries around with a spoon or spatula to evenly distribute them in the pie.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until custard is set and a knife inserted into the center of the clafoutis comes out clean.
Allow to cool before slicing and serving.
Serves 8.