August 31, 2010
Just as I was leaving, Hollye was starting to whip up a fantastic French dessert, a flaugnarde (don’t ask me how to pronounce that correctly), and she kindly agreed to share the recipe. It’s absolutely delicious and perfect for entertaining: a total crowd pleaser that is seasonal, tasty, and nearly effortless to make. It’s basically a clafouti, but classic clafoutis are always made with cherries. Just call it a flaugnarde and you can use virtually any other fruit — those crazy Frenchies! I recently made it with my little kitchen helpers using a mix of farmers market strawberries and blueberries, but feel free to use whatever fruit you have on hand. Most people dust it with confectioners sugar but I felt it was sweet enough already and simply dolloped a little crème fraiche on top of each serving. Its texture is fantastic — a little crispy, a little chewy, a little gooey and so yummy. Thanks, Hollye!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
½ cup of butter (one stick)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1–2 tsp vanilla
2 cups fruit
When the oven comes up to temperature, place the stick of butter in a 1.5 quart baking dish and slide it in the oven.
While the butter is melting, mix the next 6 ingredients (everything but the fruit).
After the butter has completely melted, remove the baking dish from the oven and pour in your mixture — don’t stir.
Then add two cups of sliced fruit and again, don’t stir.
Bake for 50 minutes to one hour and serve warm.
Great served as is, or with a dollop of crème fraiche.
