Melissa Clark's Raspberry Clafouti

Melissa Clark's clafouti recipe is a light and custardy dessert (like a baked pancake) with juicy raspberries and a hint of lavender. Elegant clafoutis is one of the easiest desserts to make, and it's all about the quick and light batter! Serve it for dessert or brunch!

This recipe is from Melissa Clark's latest cookbook Dinner in French (affiliate link).

From French baked eggs to Moroccan vegetable tagine and ratatouille sheet-pan chicken, Melissa Clark's latest book Dinner in French (affiliate link) has won my heart! It offers the comfort and big flavors of French cooking in a way someone like me, a home cook, can follow.

And with Melissa's permission, I'm excited to share one simple recipe from the cookbook that's perfect for dessert or brunch: Raspberry-Lavendar Clafouti!

What Is Clafoutis?

Clafouti, pronounced klah-foo-TEE, is a delicate French dessert that's made of fruit and a custardy batter. Think of it as an elegant baked pancake. It's a few steps above your homey cobbler or crisp, but couldn't be easier to make.

Cherries are the typical fruit used in clafoutis, and they're usually stirred into the batter unpitted, offering a bit of a bitter almondy flavor (I like cherries fine, but I'd prefer them pitted).

But Melissa Clark's recipe here uses raspberries, which are softer than the cherries, and juicier, too. And I love the addition of lavender, fragrant in a very subtle way (if you don't have lavender buds, you can still make this raspberry clafoutis without any issues. For me, I wanted even more of it)!

How to make clafouti?

Clafoutis is one of the easiest things to make. Once you understand the batter, you can use up almost any fruit you have on hand to make this light and custardy cake. Here are the key steps to making clafouti (complete print-friendly recipe below):

• Prepare your fruit. In this recipe, the raspberries are tossed with a tablespoon of sugar to help sweeten them and allow them to release their juices.

• Place the fruit in a buttered ceramic baking dish.

• Whip up the batter. Traditionally, you would prepare the batter by hand, but to make it quick, this recipe uses a blender or a food processor. First the sugar and lavender (if using), then add the wet ingredients (milk, creme fraiche, and eggs) plus pinch salt. Once you run the blender to combine these ingredients together, add in the flour and pulse just briefly until incorporated. 

• Pour the batter over the fruit.

• Bake

That's all there is to it! (And don't worry, the entire printable recipe is below)

A few tips for this clafoutis recipe

1. Add the flour last to the batter and only pulse briefly until incorporated. You'll notice that the sugar is blended first with the wet ingredients (milk, creme fraiche and eggs), before adding the flour. Flour comes in last and gets a couple pulses just until combined. This is the secret to delicate, tender clafouti.
2. Clafoutis is ready when the cake is golden and the center springs back when lightly touched. The texture of your baked claufoti should be like a sturdy custard.
3. Use a ceramic baking dish, a 2-quart gratin dish, or a 9-inch cake pan. You can likely use individual sized ramekins. Avoid thin metal baking pans because you don't want the edges to burn too quickly before the clafouti sets.
4. Clafouti is best served within an hour of baking, while it's still soft and warm. But it's quite good still after 6 hours of baking (Melissa recommends to keep it at room temperature).
5. Leftover clafoutis should be refrigerated (covered) and used within 24 hours.

What other fruit to use?

Next time I make this clafouti recipe, I may mix in some blueberries or halved strawberries, or try a peach clafouti to use up some of my ripe Georgia peaches. You can also try other stone fruit as long as it's pitted and chopped up.

Serve it for Dessert or Brunch!

You decide if you want to serve this clafoutis recipe as a simple dessert or an elegant centerpiece for your next brunch!

As I said earlier, it's best consumed nice and warm just a few minutes after you take it out of the oven. I love adding more fruit and a bowl of Greek yogurt to the side, especially if serving it for brunch!

More Recipes to Try

Banana Walnut Bread with Dates and Honey

Italian Olive Oil Apple Cake

Easy Vegetarian Egg Casserole

Sheet Pan Baked Eggs and Vegetables

You may also enjoy 50+ Top Mediterranean diet recipes. For all recipes, visit us here.  JOIN MY FREE E-MAIL LIST HERE. 

4.87 from 74 votes

Raspberry Clafoutis Recipe

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Suzy Karadsheh

Melissa Clark's clafouti recipe is a light and custardy baked dessert (like a baked pancake) with juicy raspberries and a hint of lavender. This elegant dessert is a few steps above your homey cobbler or crisp, but it couldn't be easier to make. Perfect for dessert or brunch!

Prep – 15 minutes mins

Cook – 35 minutes mins

Cuisine:

French

Serves – 6 people

Course:

Dessert

Equipment

• Ceramic Baking Dish

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ Unsalted butter for baking dish
• ▢ 3 cups (350 grams) raspberries
• ▢ ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar divided
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried lavender buds (optional)
• ▢ ½ cup (120 millilitres) whole milk
• ▢ ½ cup (114 grams) crème fraiche, more for serving (optional)
• ▢ 4 large eggs
• ▢ Pinch salt
• ▢ ⅓ cup (43 grams) all-purpose flour
• ▢ Confectioners’ sugar for serving

Instructions

 

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch ceramic baking dish, or a 2-quart gratin dish, or a 9-inch cake pan.
• In a medium bowl, toss the raspberries with 1 tablespoon sugar. Let them sit while you prepare the remaining ingredients
• In a food processor or blender, combine the remaining ½ cup sugar with the lavender; process until the lavender is mostly ground, about 2 minutes. Then pour the milk, crème fraiche, eggs, and salt, and process to combine. Add the flour and pulse just to combine.
• Arrange the sugared berries in the prepared baking dish, then pour the egg mixture over them. Bake until the cake is golden and the center springs back when lightly touched, about 35 minutes.
• Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and let the cake cook for at least 15 minutes before serving. Then dust it with confectioners’ sugar, slice it, and serve it with a dollop of whipped crème fraiche if you like (I used Greek yogurt to serve along).

Notes

• Recipe from Melissa Clark's cookbook Dinner in French (affiliate link) 
• Clafouti is best served within an hour of baking, while it's still soft and warm; but it is still quite good within 6 hours of baking (keep it at room temperature). 
• If you do not have lavender buds, you can still make this recipe without them. It is very subtle in this recipe, and for me, I will likely add a little bit more next time 
• A ceramic dish is best for baking clafouti. Avoid using metal baking pans which can burn the edges before the clafouti set. 
• Leftovers: store in the fridge, covered, overnight for a great breakfast topped with Greek yogurt and more berries! It's recommended to use up leftover clafoutis within 24 hours. 
• Visit our Online Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including extra virgin olive oils and all-natural and organic spices. 

Nutrition

Calories: 135kcalCarbohydrates: 33.5gProtein: 5.8gFat: 3.9gSaturated Fat: 1.3gCholesterol: 111.2mgSodium: 51.3mgPotassium: 165.3mgFiber: 4.1gVitamin A: 211.1IUVitamin C: 15.7mgCalcium: 56.2mgIron: 1.2mg

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