Pluot and Pomegranate Clafoutis

This dessert is hands down one of our favorites here at Mission Kitchen. It barely lasts more than a day after I’ve made it before being devoured, and it’s always a hit at a dinner party. Yet even though they scarf it down, Christian and Roni seem to have trouble pronouncing it; Christian often saying he wants some, “Claw-foot tubs.” After a few puzzling requests, I’ve learned that ‘claw-foot tubs’ means Clafoutis!

Clafoutis (‘cluh-foo-tee’) is nothing more than a baked custard set up to a firmer texture with a bit of flour. It’s traditionally made with black cherries and their pits which give the custard an almond-like flavor. However, the fruit filling of choice can be varied. You can use anything with a good balance of sweet and tart like pears, apples, stone fruits, and even figs.

I’ve most often make it in the traditional French manner with fresh cherries. But cherry season is sooo short and we want to eat our ‘claw-foot tubs’ all year round! So I made this version the other day with a mixture of end-of-the-summer Flavor King Pluots and first-of-the-fall pomegranates. It turned out to be a perfect balance of sweet and tart with a little surprising crunch from the pomegranate seeds!

Gather the ingredients.

Prepare the fruit, vanilla, and milk.

Mix the flour and eggs while the milk is heating.

Slowly add warm milk to the flour and eggs. Pour into dish and add fruit.

Bake until puffed and browned. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Enjoy!

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Pluot and Pomegranate Clafoutis

Makes on 9-inch tart.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh pluots (about 6 or 7)
• 1 pomegranate, seeded
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• pinch of salt
• butter and extra flour for preparing the dish
• powdered sugar for dusting

Steps:

Preheat the oven to 425° setting the rack in the middle.

Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch, round, deep-walled baking dish. I used a round casserole for mine, but other good options are a round oven-safe skillet or a deep-edged tart pan.

Cut the pluots in half and discard the pits. Cut each half into quarters. Set aside.

De-seed the pomegranate. I find the easiest way to do this is to score shallow cuts along the outside ridges of the pomegranate. Pull the fruit apart along these cuts, and it will come apart into its natural segments. As it separates, these segments reveal most of the seeds covered by thin walls of pulp. Simply peel away the pulp and loosen the seeds over a bowl to catch them.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, sugar, and vanilla seeds and bean. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

While the milk heats, crack two of the eggs into a medium bowl. Whisk to break apart, then add the flour. Whisk together until smooth and free of lumps and then add the remaining egg. Whisk again until smooth.

Just as the milk begins to barely boil. Turn off the heat, and very slowly ladle spoonfuls of the hot milk into the egg and flour mixture, whisking constantly. Continue gradually adding the milk until it is all combined.

Pour all of the milk mixture into the prepared dish. Add the pluots and pomegranate seeds.
Stir very gently and just enough to evenly distribute the fruit.

Place the dish in the oven and bake until lightly puffed up and golden brown on top, about 35 – 40 minutes.

Let cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack then lightly dust with powdered sugar.

Slice or scoop out spoonfuls and serve!