Showing posts with label Fruit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fruit. Show all posts
Thursday, 29 August 2013
I fell in love with making ice creams way back on one of my first trips to Canada. My father-in-law who is usually the inspiration for most of the ice creams on this blog, has a really old Donvier that he pulled out one year, and made an absolute smashing lime sorbet. Can you say hooked? Well, yeah. Hooked.
Ever since then, one of my dreams on moving back to Canada has been to get my very own ice cream machine... and no sooner did I land in Edmonton, than I got myself my very own ice cream machine. And once I had it, I don't think I've ever bought ice cream again. Because, and you have to trust me on this one, there is nothing quite like homemade ice cream. Especially as a summer's hurrah!
Friday, 31 August 2012
Every summer there seems to be a theme to this site. Last summer was all about the ice creams. This summer those ice creams seem to have gotten stuck on a stick, and its really been all about the popsicles and creamsicles. What's not to like about ice cream and sorbet on a stick anyway?
Aditi and I certainly have no complaints at all. Check out m'lady's expressions in the pictures below and you can certainly see that she's been loving this summer.
Friday, 17 August 2012
No other fruit in the world is as reminiscent of summer, as watermelon. One of my enduring memories from home in India, is the abundance of watermelon, which my mum would sit and carefully cut into little cubes for us, and we would devour it. It was the perfect heat buster, and watermelon juice was a perennial favourite of ours, and widely available on the streets of India.
When the National Watermelon Promotion Board asked me if I would take part in their Kid-tastic Watermelon Blogger Challenge, Aditi and I of course, were all for it. Not only is watermelon one of Aditi's favourite fruits, but it is an amazingly versatile one at that. We've eaten it straight up, had it in classic salads with feta cheese and mint, made it into yummy watermelon ice candies, made sorbets and ice creams, granitas and daiquiris.
When our blogging kit arrived, Aditi was delighted to find that it included her very own apron... which she then insisted on wearing constantly around the house. Before I knew it, the watermelon that came with the kit had also been gobbled up by the houseful of kids I was hosting... which meant that I had to head out double quick to find another one with which to make my recipe.
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
All this drama... while the answer was blindingly obvious, of course. Eat the damn things and sod the pictures :) Oh, and when you're at it, drink all the limoncello as well, you'll need it!
That said, can you think of a more perfect way to beat the heat? Fresh, tangy citrus teamed up with a delicate liqueur, all in a delicious creamy popsicle?
Thought not.
The idea for these creamsicles came from David Lebovitz's book. I've been addicted to his lemon ice cream for years now, but I also wanted to change things up a bit, as some aspects of it weren't quite working for me. The ice cream kept turning slightly powdery (delicious, nonetheless) and obviously some ingredients just weren't the same here. So I worked and reworked it several times, before coming up with this version, which, to be honest, is pretty close to perfect. The alcohol keeps the creamsicles smooth and creamy, while dissolving the sugar and lemon juice prior to blending in the half and half got rid of the powderiness. And of course, you can always freeze this in an ice cream machine, like I did, and serve with a sprinkling of lemon zest and a splash of limoncello.
And how did I stop them melting enough to take some pictures? Well, I cut out some paper towels in the shape of these popsicles, and placed the creamsicles gently over top of them. Solved part of the melting problem, but these pics were still taken in under five minutes :) Sometimes, photography has to take a backseat to more practical considerations like, how do you keep these treats away from sneaky li'l hands? That, I haven't yet figured out!!
(Printable Recipe)
½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ cup caster sugar (berry sugar) *increase to ¾ cup if you like your creamsicles sweeter
2 cups half and half (10% cream or 1 cup single cream + 1 cup whole milk)
Pinch of salt
1½ - 2 tablespoons limoncello
Method:
Place the lemon juice and sugar in a bowl, and whisk together until the sugar is reasonably well dissolved.
Whisk in the half and half and salt. Transfer to a blender and blend for 1 minute, until the mixture is lovely, thick and creamy.
Stir in the limoncello.
Pour immediately* into popsicle moulds and freeze overnight until set completely. Run water over popsicle moulds to release.
* If you leave the mixture in the fridge before pouring it into moulds, it could separate. Give it a good whisk to combine before pouring into moulds or freezing in an ice cream machine.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Me (after listening to Aditi yammering away for what felt like the whole day!): Aditi, don't you ever stop talking?
Aditi (looking at me quite seriously): Mommy, I am just making sure my tongue works.
Or, this one.
Me: Aditi why don't you like spice?
Aditi: Mum, I like spice when you put it in desserts.
Sigh!!!
Sigh!!!
Saturday, 5 May 2012
If you've ever been to the south of India, the first thing that probably hit you, as you stepped off the plane is the intense heat and humidity, right? Kay described it as being 'slapped in the face with a hot wet towel' and I have to admit he's got it spot on. He also described some other unflattering elements of that experience, but I won't repeat them here... I don't want to stop you from experiencing India in all its glory.
Unlike popular expectations though, the whole of India is not uniformly hot. The North of India actually has seasons, and can get incredibly hot and cold. The climate in the South is more tropical, and the temperature usually fluctuates between a balmy 25 - 35 C, with intense monsoons between June and September. The rains are actually a blessing, as the heat would have been unbearable during this season otherwise. We like to joke that there are three seasons in the South, hot, hotter and hottest, and each vying to make you the most uncomfortable. A lot of people don't realise that its not the heat that gets you, though, its the humidity. That wet towel feeling, to be precise.
So the one thing you do need to do while visiting India is keep well hydrated throughout your journey. This can be a lot harder than we realise. Having grown up in the heat, as kids, we were kept well watered througout the year. Be it tender coconut water (one of the biggest coolers around!), fresh fruit juices, this nimbu pani and... erm... Pepsi, the one thing that was drummed into us pretty constantly was the need to keep drinking fluids constantly.
Which is why it was a tad embarrassing, I suppose, when I got my first ever sunstroke in Terrace, BC, Canada, as opposed to Mangalore, India :) But that's a story for another time.
So, that universal cooler, lemonade. Pretty much every country in the world has its own recipe for lemonade. Be it those tall, frosty glasses here in Canada, or the little kids selling it on suburban streets, its a ubiquitous drink that needs no introduction, or, even for that matter, a recipe. In India, lemonade is called 'nimbu pani' or 'lime water', and is sold on every street corner, usually with gigantic cubes of ice and a splash of soda. Sometimes, its is scented with the unique spiciness of ginger, and I must admit that this version is my personal favourite.
A significant portion of my university life was spent in the dhaba (street eatery) outside my hostel, drinking copious amounts of this sweet/ salty drink, in a futile attempt to battle the horrendous Delhi summer. I reminisce about my days at uni, in this post for Maamu's mango lassi, but lets say the honours were shared equally between his 'nimbu pani' and his lassi! To add an exotic, unusual touch, I rimmed the glasses with my homemade chaat masala and splashed in a few lemons and limes. I love this drink, and as summer approaches, I am looking forward to having loads of it on the deck, perhaps enlivened with a cheeky dash of gin, what say?
Recipe:
(Printable Recipe)
Ginger-Lemon Syrup
Juice of 3 lemons
Juice of 1 lime
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
½ cup sugar (or to taste)
To Serve
Club soda or sparkling water
A generous pinch of salt
A teaspoon of chaat masala (try my homemade recipe)
A teaspoon of coarse rock salt or sea salt
Lemon or lime slices
Mint leaves (optional)
Method:
To make the ginger-lemon syrup, combine the lemon and lime juices with the ginger and sugar in a small pan.
Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved then bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer for about 3 - 4 minutes.
Cool, then strain through a fine sieve or a muslin cloth, discarding any ginger solids. This syrup will keep for about two - four days in the refrigerator, and can also be frozen.
To serve, spread out the salt and chaat masala on a plate. Rim the glasses with a mixture of chaat masala and coarse sea salt.
Place 3-4 tablespoons of syrup in a tall glass. Top up with club soda.
Garnish with a lemon or lime slice, and mint leaves, if desired.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
I've been a little lazy this week. Its been a bit of a rough time, as I've been waiting on a few things, and I wasn't able to plan my weeks and cooking as much as I would have liked. I ocasionally get these kind of periods in my life, and I have to slog a bit to get through them. The weather hasn't been particularly kind either, as its been gray, cloudy, with tons of snow (oh, and its only beginning, sob!!) and no natural light of any kind, which usually inspires me to cook.
So, yeah, life's been a bit of a drag, and by the time I've cooked dinner, it's so dark, I really have no time to photograph either. I normally photograph on weekends, when I can find some natural light during the daytime, but the last weekend and this one has been so packed that I've hardly had any time to cook. We headed over to Calgary the weekend before, and had a real blast at the zoo. I wish I'd had some more time to explore the city, but Aditi and I bonded over the animals, and we loved the butterflies. The butterfly enclosure had an ovewhelming fragrance that reminded me of my mum's garden, and it brought back so many memories. We also enjoyed seeing all the Canadian animals, though I realised later that, except for cougars, we've seen practically all the others in the wild, including grizzly bears.
My friend Mike is a wildlife photographer in BC, and you should check out his wildlife and landscape pictures here, well worth a look, and you'll see so many beautiful animals, including the rare kermode bears.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
There is one fruit that you are going to see on this blog fairly often in the next few weeks, and that's the apple. I have a crateload of apples this autumn, thanks to my kindly neigbour. Mr M has an apple tree in his backyard, which, like his Evan's cherry tree, produces tons and tons of apples every year. This year he asked me to help him clear the tree. Little did I know that what he meant was, take all the apples home. Kay, Aditi and I, between us, picked every single apple off the tree, and we had a gigantic crateful. I spent days sorting through these apples.
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
There a nip in the air. Uh oh! It feels like almost overnight that the temperature has been dropping, going from those glorious +30s to almost zero. I've been in denial for the past few days, denial because the summer did give us half a beautiful month. But I have to face it, its no longer summer, and autumn has made the decision to come by.
So the sweaters are coming out and the coats are being aired. Shorts and tees are (very sadly) being put away. Socks are turning woollen, and shoes are getting thicker. Sandals are but a distant memory. The wind is getting colder, and the sunshine is not warm anymore. The squirrels are busy hoarding spruce cones, rushing around tirelessly, from tree to den. The leaves are turning yellow, and Kay is keeping a lookout for frost, because the tomatoes and herbs have to come in. Grass is turning browner, and the trees look a bit sad. There are piles of yellow leaves on the lawns, and the vegetables are giving us one last bounty before winter sets in.
So the sweaters are coming out and the coats are being aired. Shorts and tees are (very sadly) being put away. Socks are turning woollen, and shoes are getting thicker. Sandals are but a distant memory. The wind is getting colder, and the sunshine is not warm anymore. The squirrels are busy hoarding spruce cones, rushing around tirelessly, from tree to den. The leaves are turning yellow, and Kay is keeping a lookout for frost, because the tomatoes and herbs have to come in. Grass is turning browner, and the trees look a bit sad. There are piles of yellow leaves on the lawns, and the vegetables are giving us one last bounty before winter sets in.
Thursday, 25 August 2011
Perfect cherry drizzle on homemade vanilla ice cream
My baby girl easily ate more cherries than she picked!
I spend a lot of time checking out my neighbour Mr M's cherry tree, from the moment is starts budding in the spring to the point where its bursting with cherries. Yes, I am a greedy, avaricious woman, especially when it comes to cherries. My dear neighbour, bless him, told me early on in this season, that I could come by and pick the cherries off his tree. Little did he know that, as soon as he called to let me know that the cherries were ready for picking, I would be there a couple minutes later with five buckets and a couple of little girls to help me pick those ruby red beauties. Poor Mr M! Well, he did say to pick as much as we wanted [pout].
Evans Cherries have got to be the prettiest cherries I've seen. Their beautiful red colour is just gorgeous, and the purest red you can imagine. The riper the cherries get, the more intense the colour becomes. I defy you to look at that absolutely perfect cherry in the picture below and not go 'awwwww'! Well, I did anyway. And the taste is a revelation. The cherries are sour to start with, but the addition of sugar just makes them pop into a myriad of flavours, that are truly divine. And for that matter, these cherries were not even that sour, judging by how many my little girls ate when picking them!
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Thursday, 23 June 2011
'A shortcake should be like a biscuit' said a formidable lady from Terrace to my MIL during their strawberry socials (I love that idea, anyone up for a strawberry social in Edmonton?).
Who am I to disagree? This wonderful shortcake recipe was passed on to me by my MIL, who told me that its an old recipe, that has been handed down quite a bit. Having gobbled up her shortcakes, I can see why this is a trusted recipe. Its Delicious, with that capital D fully justified.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Dom over at Belleau Kitchen announced that this month's Random Recipe Challenge would be 'Just Desserts'. Yesss! I do desserts. In fact, I actively seek them out and do them. Kay, not so much, as he's watching his diet, but me and Aditi, we indulge. Luckily we are home most days so all signs of our dessertly activity can be hidden well before poor Kay gets back home.
Thursday, 7 April 2011
First my news. I have found out that a lovely person (thank you!) has nominated my blog for Babble's Top 100 Food Mom Blogs for 2011 in the 'Your Favourites' section.. To say I am super excited would be a mild understatement. Eeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I am excited!! Are you? Probably not :-) But I am! And I have a favour to ask of you. If you like my blog and enjoy my recipes, please could you go over to Babble and say you like me? All you have to do is click on the 'I like this' button beside my name. I am listed as Michelle Peters-Jones, and right now I am on Page 1 by popularity and Page 4, alphabetically. So, thanks in advance for your support and I really appreciate it! Here's an additonal link, if you missed the first one. You can also nominate any other favourite mom blog there too.
And now that I have got the excitement out of the way, back to the post. For this month's Random Recipe Challenge, Dom over at Belleau Kitchen asked us to make a recipe from our very first cookbooks. Well, turns out I remember my first every cookbook rather well. So well, that I asked my mum to see if she could find a copy for me to own, and lovely mom that she is, she came up trumps.
Monday, 4 April 2011
I don't make Indian desserts very often, as I tend to find them quite rich and very sweet. However, after buying my semolina vermicelli, I was quite tempted to make this version of kheer or milk pudding. Normally kheer is made with pudding rice, as its the Indian version of the British rice pudding. But the vermicelli version is very popular in India too.
Saturday, 2 April 2011
Last week, I had a box of strawberries waiting to be eaten, and I figured, I should finally make that shortcake. So, that morning, I told Aditi that we would have strawberry shortcake for dessert that night. Her face just crumpled, and she was almost on the verge of tears... I was a bit worried there.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Mangoes are so ubiquitous in India, that I feel I really didn't appreciate them when I should have. Now that I no longer get fresh, sweet mangoes off the trees, I crave them so much.
I love mangoes. I love them when they're tart and green, and when they've ripened to a soft, creamy yellow. My maternal grandparents used to live in a village an hour or so outside Mangalore, and their garden had a large mango tree. My mum still remembers the taste of those mangoes, as she reminisces about eating them straight off the tree with her brothers and sisters.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
There are always those days when you just get totally exasperated with the other half! Today was one of those days for me.
It all started when a couple days ago I noticed that Seville oranges had arrived in Safeway. Now, the season for these oranges is fairly short, and they are probably the best oranges to make marmalade with. My dear father-in-law, aka, the world's best marmalade maker, makes his delicious marmalade during this time, and puts it down for the winter. So I asked him his recipe, and made copious notes of his instructions, so I could give this recipe a try. Off I went, and bought the required oranges, plus a normal orange and a lemon that the recipe calls for.
While I was in Safeway, I saw a punnet of strawberries that caught my eye, simply because they looked delicious and ripe and not like the normal stuff we get there (Safeway usually has rubbish strawberries at this time of the year) And the strawberries were also on sale. So I picked up a punnet (in hindsight, I should have picked up two or three), and some BC apples. Back home, I separated the marmalade oranges from the rest of the fruit I had bought, and popped the rest of the fruit into the fruit bowl.
So Kay returns from work, and dinner is not yet done, so off he goes to the kitchen to find a snack. And guess what he finds there? My normal orange that I had saved for the marmalade!!! I notice his indiscretion halfway through the orange, and bawl him out. Upshot is that no marmalade will be made tonight, thanks to greedy husbands!
But you know those times when you've been completely psyched up to do something, and it doesn't happen? You still have all that adrenaline rushing through you, and you need an outlet for it? Well, mine was that I was all made up to make this marmalade, and now I had to find something else to do or I would go crazy and prowl around the house growling at everything in sight! So to save the family the mood, I cast an eye over the fruit bowl, and saw the strawberries and a dozen apples. Well, it was going to have to be strawberry and apple jam then, if I couldn't have the marmalade.
And it was! I did not use a proper recipe for this jam, as I was kind of aware how jam is normally made. And apples are full of pectin, so I didn't need liquid pectin this time. And you need lemon juice as well. Plus the setting point of jam was 105 C. So I kept that equation in mind while making this jam up, and adjusted quantities to taste rather than following a recipe as such. But then again, most recipes for jam are usually fruit, sugar and lemon juice anyway!
The jam worked pretty well, and was a lovely dark red colour, with lighter chunks of apples floating through it. And it did taste really lovely, not super sweet, but with a delicious apple-y tang. So, no thanks to husbands, it was a successful jam making evening after all!
Recipe:
(Printable Recipe)
450g ripe strawberries
2 eating apples (I used Gala)
1 1/2 cup sugar + a little more if you like
Juice of one lemon (roughly 1/2 cup)
1 tsp butter
Method:
Wash, hull and quarter the strawberries. Wash and peel the apples, and dice them into small pieces.
Roughly mash the strawberries, till quite pulpy. You can also puree them in a blender if you like a smooth jam.
Put the mashed strawberries and apples into a deep, heavy pan, along with the sugar, lemon juice and butter. Taste and add some more sugar if you like your jam quite sweet.
Simmer gently on low heat for 15 minutes. Then, using a masher or fork, mash the mixture so they the apples are all pulpy and soft. Turn up the heat to medium, and cook, stirring often, for another 15 minutes. Then allow the jam to come to a rolling boil for an additional 5 - 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and not letting the jam burn at the bottom (which is why you need a deep pan, or it will splatter absolutely everywhere!)
If there is foamy stuff on top, skim away using a spoon.
If you have a candy thermometer, the reading should be 105 C or 22o F. If you don't have one, no worries, just drop some jam on a cold plate and draw your finger through it. If it wrinkles, and doesn't get back together, its done.
Take the jam off the heat, and leave for around 5 minutes or so.
Then spoon into sterilised jars (boil the jars and lids for two minutes, take out and leave to dry, the jars should still be quite hot to touch). As this recipe only makes about two 500 ml jars, I didn't bother with the whole canning process. So this jam needs to be kept in the fridge and should keep well for up to three weeks (not in our house it won't, but one can only hope!!) If you want to make more and can the jam, then follow the canning instructions that I linked to in my cherry jam recipe.
The marmalade will come soon, once I have had a chance to pop back to the grocery store again tomorrow (bloody husbands!!) :-)
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Edmonton's always been a cold city, with snow starting in October this year. Of course little girls love snow, while their mommies think its cold, wet and miserable, but little girls win these rounds with their mommies. Mommies then bundle up as warmly as they can and head outside to build snowmen, get snowballs thrown at them, and make snow angels (which leads to really cold backsides)... and the end result is a tired, but happy little girl and a cold mommy, both who decide that a cup of hot chocolate is the best thing in the world, ever :-)
This chocolate pudding fulfills that basic need of mommies and little girls. When I heard that Julia at A Slice of Cherry Pie was hosting a Snow Day Bake Off, my ears almost fell off with excitement (or was that with the cold?) I don't normally take part in bake offs and such like, as I ocasionally still feel a bit insecure about my baking, not being someone who grew up with a baking tradition.
However, I had a recipe for chocolate pudding from BBCs Good Food magazine that I wanted to try for a long time. Julia's bake off gave me a good excuse to indulge myself and the family, with this rich moist half pudding, half cake, with dark chocolatey sauce melting through it and the tangy, juicy sweetness of Bing cherries scattered through. The original recipe is for a self saucing chocolate orange pudding, but I adapted it heavily. I did have orange chocolate and fresh oranges but a certain big, blond greedy person ate the chocolate and the oranges that I was saving for this pudding. So it got changed to chocolate cherry instead, what with chocolates, cherries and rum being very good friends indeed (wink!)
This household also has a bottle of dark rum in an emergency cupboard (which gets raided too often to be an emergency cupboard, really), so a glug of rum got added to the pudding too (most of the alcohol got boiled off, of course, I am not a completely irresponsible parent :-)). I also remeasured everything into volume (cup) measures, as I tend to use those more often than weighing out the ingredients.
The pudding came out delicious with streaks of intense chocolatey sauce running through it and the bursts of cherry juice. I made it in individual ramekins, so the sauce wasn't as plentiful as I would have liked, and I think I will make it in a baking dish next time. But other than that, it was absolutely gorgeous and decadent! Its also very chocolatey, so if you want it a bit sweeter, I suggest using milk chocolate instead of dark. It disappeared quickly, so no bets on how much this family liked it!
Recipe:
(Printable Recipe)
1/4 cup unsalted butter (roughly around 55 g)
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
4 tbsps cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
75 ml milk
50 g dark chocolate, chopped
1 and half cup cherries, fresh or frozen
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dark rum
1/2 cup brown sugar
150 ml boiling water
1 and half tbsp cocoa
Method:
Put the cherries, 2 tbsp sugar and rum into a pan, and gently heat until the cherries release their juice, about 5 - 7 minutes. Let cool.
Sift together the flour, salt, caster sugar, baking powder and cocoa. Gently melt the butter, and in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and milk. Stir in the cooled cherries and their juices. Fold into the flour mix, beating well with a spatula until the pudding mixture is well blended. Stir in the chopped dark chocolate.
Carefully spoon the batter into 4 buttered 7 oz ramekins.
In a bowl, whisk 150 ml boiling water with the brown sugar and 1 and half tbsp cocoa. It should measure up to 200 ml, once blended together. Now divide this into four 50 ml portions and pour over the batter in the ramekins.
Carefully place the ramekins in a baking tray, then in an oven preheated to 175 C or 350 F. The baking tray helps to catch any spills. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes without opening the oven door. The tops of the puddings should be well risen by this time.
Take out the puddings, let cool for a few minutes, and serve warm with icecream or whipped cream.
Thursday, 25 November 2010
What do you get when you are in a mood for a custard, but also a cake? Why, a clafoutis of course!! This divine dessert is a delight, delicious, decadent and droolworthy. And quite simply a cinch to make if you're up to an afternoon of baking, but its not quite time to break out the Christmas recipes.
Thanks to a few bucketfuls of fresh Bing cherries from our friend in Terrace, I have a freezer full of cherries that are just waiting to be made into desserts through the long cold winter. Truly a taste of summer, these cherries remind me of this summer's drive back from Terrace to Edmonton. We had a bucket of cherries between the drivers and passenger seats, and our lips were stained black from snacking on them all the time. Ocasionally we'd toss a couple into the back seat where there was an eager kid just waiting to chow down on them. Ah, memories.
Fresh cherries are not something I grew up with and the cherries we got back in India were either the small, sour varieties or came in a bottle with enough sugar syrup to kill all of their character. Of course, this meant that when I did finally taste fresh cherries off the tree, I was a kid in a candy store... Aditi, Kay and I spent more time at that tree in Terrace than with the in-laws :-)
My favourite recipe for cherry clafoutis is one from Raymond Blanc, God of all French Cooking (and Gallic good looks, of course!) This particular version has been adapted a bit, because I did not have some ingredients, plus I wanted to make it a little lighter. The original version is here, and also available in the BBC's Foolproof French Cookery, so feel free to try them out!
This tastes best warm, just taken out of the oven, and left to sit for a few minutes (if you have the patience), but I have had it the next day cold and with a scoop of homemade vanilla icecream and it's still pretty divine. Of course, it is even better with fresh cherries, but frozen work just as well.
Recipe:
(Printable Recipe)Cherries:
500g cherries, pitted, fresh or frozen (if using frozen, measure them out when they are still frozen)
A couple tbsp dark rum or kirsch
About 100g sugar
Clafoutis:
100g plain flour
5 tbsp sugar
A pinch of salt
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
Zest of one small lemon
2 drops natural almond extract
150ml milk
150ml single cream or half and half
70 - 75g butter, melted to a light brown colour
Method:
Mix together the cherries, rum or kirsch and sugar in a bowl, and pop into the fridge for a couple hours. If using frozen cherries, leave out for the cherries to thaw. If they haven't thawed sufficiently in time to be added to the batter, defrost quickly in microwave.
Preheat the oven to 180 C or 350 F.
In a big bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and eggs and egg yolk. Add the lemon zest and almond extract and stir together. Now add the milk and cream and whisk until well blended.
The melted butter should still be hot at this point. Slowly drizzle it into the batter, whisking constantly until it is all incorporated.
Stir in the cherries and any remaining marinade into the batter.
Grease the baking tray or pie pan with a little butter, and sprinkle over some caster sugar.
Pour the batter into this prepared tray or pie pan, and bake for 35 - 40 minutes, resisting the urge to open the oven at this time. Keep an eye on the clafoutis, and when it looks like its browning on the top, gently open the oven, and skewer it. If the skewer comes out clean, the clafoutis is done. If not, let it bake for a few more minutes. Take it out of the oven, and let it rest for a few minutes.
Serve with ice cream or heavy cream.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
