Almond Clafouti with Blood Orange

I don't know why I don't make clafoutis more often, when variations of the traditional French country baked fruit pudding are so easy to make and the results have such a wonderful cake-and-custard texture and the rustic charm of the simple flavors of milk, flour and eggs. I suppose that there's so many ideas for food that it's easy to forget about one while exploring others, until something reminds me again. Fortunately that reminder showed up in the form of a recipe for an almond-peach clafouti while browsing through the latest cookbook to arrive on my shelves, Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck. I will have much to say about this informative and beautifully illustrated cookbook in the coming months as I explore the recipes and information contained between the covers.

I love the idea of adding almond flour to a clafouti for its wonderful marzipan-like fragrance and the toothsomeness it adds to the pudding's texture. And I also liked the convenience of baking the clafouti in a glass pie plate rather than the customary earthenware dish. But peaches aren't in season around here right now, while on the other hand it's a great time for citrus fruits from the southern United States. So I've adapted the recipe from the book to use colorful segments of blood orange as well as using honey for a sweetener. And the results? The blood oranges burst into your mouth with a sweet and tart pop, surrounded by a creamy and aromatic pudding cake. Absolutely wonderful, and the clafouti disappeared in one sitting.

This recipe is so easy to make, you can put it together after a meal while everyone's food is settling. On the other hand, you can make it an hour ahead of the meal and keep it at room temperature. If you don't have almond flour — also known as almond meal or simply ground almonds — on hand, it's easy to make at home too. Simply grind 1/3 cup of blanched (skinless) almonds with 1 teaspoon of white sugar in a coffee grinder or food processor until finely ground, sifting the results to add clumps back into the grinder (sugar is added to absorb the oil from the almonds in order to prevent clumping). You may also want to consider serving this clafouti for a sweet weekend breakfast.

Almond Clafouti with Blood Orange

Recipe by Lisa Turner Adapted from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals: Mediterranean Whole Grain Recipes for Barley, Farro, Kamut, Polenta, Wheat Berries & More Cuisine: French Published on April 9, 2012 A simple cake-and-custard like baked pudding made with fragrant almond meal and tart blood oranges Print this recipe Ingredients: 1/2 cup whipping cream 1/2 cup whole milk zest from 1 blood orange 1 teaspoon vanilla 3 large eggs, room temperature 1/2 cup honey 1/3 cup almond flour 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 2 blood oranges   butter and almond flour for brushing and dusting icing sugar (optional) Instructions: Preheat an oven to 375°. Butter a 9-inch glass pie plate or 1-quart (1-liter) casserole dish. Dust with almond flour and tap out the excess. Whisk together the whipping cream, milk, zest and vanilla in a small bowl. In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs together until blended. Pour in the honey, whisking as you go along, until the honey is blended and the mixture thickens slightly, about 1 minute. Continuing to whisk, pour in the cream and milk mixture, followed by the almond flour and beat until smooth. Finally, add the all-purpose flour and whisk until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pie plate or casserole dish. Peel the blood oranges and remove pieces of the membrane around the segments. Scatter the segments in the batter. Bake in the preheated oven until the clafouti is puffed and golden-brown around the edges, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out just clean, about 30 minutes if using a pie plate — adjust for a slightly longer cooking time if using a casserole dish. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool and set for 15 minutes. Serve warm, with a dusting of icing sugar if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings

Other baked fruit puddings you may enjoy:
Rum Plum Clafouti
Cherry Pudding
Lemon Sponge Pudding