Plum Clafouti

We rarely prepare or consume desserts at Carol Place, but this was a special occasion, a meal to celebrate the launching of the Website for Simply Better Interiors. Remembering clafouti from the times Phil's sister served it, we went searching for recipes online. There we discovered several folks acknowledging that their offerings were drawn from Julia, so we turned to the master.

Our version deviates from Julia's only in the simplified preparation of the plums.

1. Slice the plums into halves or quarters, removing the pits. Gently toss them with 3 T. sugar, and set them aside for one hour.
   
   
2. Preheat oven to 350^o.
   
   
3. In an blender, mix together the milk, 1/3 c. sugar, flour, vanilla, eggs, and salt at a high speed for a full minute.
   
   
4. Lightly butter a large (7- to 8-cup, at least 1 1/2 inches deep) baking dish. Pour into it a light coating (1/4 inch deep) of the batter and move the dish to the oven. Place in the oven for about 5 minutes–until the batter has set in the bottom of the dish.
   
   
5. Remove the dish from the oven. Place the plums atop the batter (skin up if you halved them), sprinkle them with the remaining 2 T. granulated sugar, and cover them with the remaining batter.
   
   
6. Bake in the middle position of the oven for about an hour, until the clafouti has puffed and browned and a toothpick or knife plunged into its center comes out clean.
   
   
7. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with the confectioners' sugar, and serve. As Julia notes, the clafouti need not be served hot, but it should still be warm.

6 - 8 servings   

Source: Julia Child et al., Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One