This is one of those recipes where you’ll look at the picture in the book and tell yourself that you’ll never be able to pull it off. And then, you read through things a bit and come to the conclusion that you might be able to pull it off. Finally, half way through the actual preparation, you look at what you have done and you realize that what you’re putting together may actually look better than what’s in the book. That’s what I experienced and I’m here to tell you today, if you like blueberries and baked custard, you can do this. This dish is so incredibly simple to put together that you’ll amaze yourself. When you sit down to enjoy it with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream, you’ll be delighted with your prowess in the kitchen.
The Recipe
This is one of the best desserts I’ve enjoyed in a long while. The ingredient list isn’t long at all and the necessary steps are easier than you might think. Actually, if you read through what you need to do below, you’ll realize that you can’t screw it up. Unless, of course, you keep the mixture in the oven too long. That’s all that can go wrong.
This is a sweet dessert with an incredibly firm, yet smooth texture. It makes good use of blueberries, which are in season right now. It also makes use of eggs, cream, milk, sugar and vanilla extract which add some great tasting richness. While I don’t offer a recipe for the ice cream, you can purchase some of that at the grocery store if you want to include it with the rest of the dessert. I encourage you to do so. There’s something about the ice cream melting into the rest of the dish that brings it to another level.
Ingredients
Serves: 6
1 Cup Granulated Sugar, Divided
6 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
3 Large Eggs
3/4 Cup Whole Milk
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3 Cups Fresh Blueberries
2 Tablespoons Chilled Butter, Cut into Small Cubes + Some For Buttering the Skillet
Vanilla Ice Cream
Step-by-Step Instructions
I’d like to thank Ellen Brown for her wonderful resource called The New Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook. The recipes Ellen includes in this book truly are a step up from all other cast iron cookbooks. There’s an air of elegance to her recipes that I haven’t been able to find elsewhere, so thank you for that. I have truly enjoyed each and every one of the recipes from this book so far.
Pre-Heat Your Oven
Arrange one of your oven racks about six inches away from the top of your oven and the other in the center position. Then, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare the Custard
In your food processor, add the cup of sugar, minus three tablespoons. This amount is the equivalent of 13 tablespoons of sugar. Also add the flour, eggs, milk, cream, vanilla and salt. Process these ingredients until they are smooth. This will take only about 15 seconds or so.
Combine the Custard & the Blueberries
Use some butter to grease a large cast iron skillet. Then, add the blueberries to it.
Next, pour the custard from the food processor into the skillet. The blueberries should be partially covered.
Bake the Ingredients
When the oven is to temperature, add the skillet to it on the center rack and bake the ingredients for about 20 minutes. It may take a few extra minutes, depending on your oven. The result should be springy and firm to the touch.
Brown the Sugar
Remove the skillet from the oven and sprinkle the remaining three tablespoons of sugar on the surface of the blueberries. Also, add the small cubes of butter to the blueberries as well. Try to cover the surface uniformly.
Turn off the oven heat. Then, turn the broiler on to low. Place the skillet back in the oven on the top rack. Let it broil for about two minutes. Since the broiler is on low, not much will happen. The sugar will become heated though. Next, increase the broiler heat to high and keep a very close eye on the sugar on top. It should just begin to brown (this should take just about one minute). When it does, turn off the heat and remove the skillet from the oven. You are finished with the oven.
Plate & Serve
While the clafouti is still hot, divide it between however many bowls you’d like to serve. Add some ice cream to the top of it and serve immediately. Enjoy!
The Final Blueberry Clafouti
Believe it or not, the most memorable part of this dessert is the custard. It’s so unique in its firmness and texture. It’s rather delicious. The blueberries and the caramelized sugar on top aren’t bad either. Who am I kidding? The whole thing is good. Give this dessert recipe a try and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!
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