Llight and custardy, made with cherries (traditionally), figs, raspberries, apples, pears, or blueberries soaked in cognac, put this on your summer menu. Here’s a Julia Child recipe or, if you’re too lazy to make it, fly to Paris and go directly to one of the addresses below for a genuine sample. Most good neighborhood patisseries have their own variation, the list is just a starting point. Can’t pronounce? Just point but remember to smile, say “bonjour” and “merci”. Not exactly finger food.
Make it yourself (no low-fat substitutions or the custard won’t be creamy):
SERVINGS6-8
1 1⁄4cups milk or half-and-half
2⁄3cup sugar, divided
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1⁄8teaspoon salt
1⁄2cup flour
3 cups cherries, pitted or whatever fresh fruit you have on hand
powdered sugar, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour, and blend.
Lightly butter an 8-cup baking dish, and pour a 1/4-inch layer of the blended mixture over the bottom. Set remaining batter aside.
Place dish into the oven for about 7-10 minutes, until a film of batter sets in the pan but the mixture is not baked through. Remove from oven (but don’t turn the oven off, yet).
Distribute the pitted cherries over the set batter in the pan, then sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Pour the remaining batter over the cherries and sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until the clafouti is puffed and brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm.
Gerard Mulot, 76 rue de Seine, Paris 75006
Roger la Grenouille
Saint-Michel/Odéon, 6ème
26-28 rue des Grands Augustins, 75006
75006 Paris
Legay Choc (patisserie)
Marais, Beaubourg, 4ème
45 rue Ste Croix la Bretonnerie, 75004
Le Bistrot d’Henri
Saint-Germain-Des-Prés, 6ème
16 rue Princesse, 75006
Spring, 6 rue Bailleul, 75001
Caillebotte
Pigalle, 9ème
8 rue Hippolyte-Lebas, 75009
Liberté (patisserie)
Canal St Martin/Gare de l’Est, 10ème
39 rue des Vinaigriers