Recipe
Add some native flair to a French dessert with this Illawarra plum clafoutis
Get ready to dive spoon-first into a warm, custardy hug of a dessert that’s as easy to make as it is to love.
By Christopher Thé
Not every dish needs contrasting textures, or to hit hard with sweetness, acidity and bitterness. Sometimes the best food experiences are comforting. Soft on soft. Luxurious.
Clafoutis is such a comfy-cosy dish that, were it human, it’d be wearing trackies and a hoodie. This recipe is so chill it doesn’t even need a pastry base. Typically made with cherries, my version features Illawarra plums, plus some lemon myrtle thrown in for good measure.
Ingredients to make illawarra plum clafoutis recipe
Makes 120 cm (8 in) clafoutis
125 g (41⁄2 oz) caster (superfine) sugar
165 g (6 oz/approx. 3) whole eggs
240 g (81⁄2 oz) full-cream (whole) milk
60 g (2 oz) thick (double/heavy) cream
75 g (23⁄4 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
pinch of fine salt
3 g (1⁄10 oz/1 teaspoon) ground lemon myrtle
20 g (3⁄4 oz) brandy
6 g (1⁄8 oz/1 teaspoon) vanilla extract
40 g (11⁄2 oz/2 tablespoons) butter
350 g (121⁄2 oz) Illawarra plums, seeds removed
10 g (1⁄4 oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
To serve
100 g (31⁄2 oz) thick (double/heavy) cream
Substitutions
Illawarra plums > cherries
lemon myrtle > lemon rind
How to make illawarra plum clafoutis recipe
Preheat the oven to 180˚C (360˚F).
Mix the caster sugar and eggs together in a bowl. Add the milk and cream and mix well. Add the flour, salt and lemon myrtle and whisk until smooth. Finally, add the brandy and vanilla and whisk
Heat the butter in a 20 cm (8 in) cast-iron or non-stick pan. Allow it to melt, then add the plums. Cook for 1 minute then pour in the custard mix. Bake for 20 minutes, or until set.
Take the clafoutis out of the oven and sift the icing sugar over the top. Return to the oven and continue to bake until golden brown, around 20 minutes.
Serve with the thick cream.
Citro food tip
For extra depth of flavor, roast the Illawarra plums briefly before baking. This concentrates their sweetness and adds a subtle caramelised note to your clafoutis.
This is an edited extract from Modern Australian Baking by Christopher Thé, published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores nationally. Photography by Chris Chen.
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