Another recipe from Clotilde at "Chocolate and Zucchini." She describes best what "clafoutis" is:

"Clafoutis is the epitome of the French grandmotherly dessert: unpretentious, easy to make, and blissfully comforting. The fluffy custard, light as a cloud and studded with fruit, hails from the Limousin region in the heart of France, where each family has its own well-guarded recipe. Clafoutis is most classically made with cherries..."

I've now made this recipe at least three times, messing it up terribly the second go 'round. It wasn't because it was hard to make, it was because I was trying to make two things at once and let's just say that I'm a one recipe at a time girl. In any case, the first time was when I visited the fam back in March. I'm pleased to report that everyone was quite happy with the result.

Strawberry Clafoutis
From Chocolate and Zucchini

Serves 6.

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 pint fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, cut into bite-sized pieces.
  
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole blanched almonds
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• A pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon light rum (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
• Grease an 8-inch-square glass or ceramic baking dish (or 6 1-cup ramekins for a more elegant presentation) with one tablespoon of the butter.
• Melt the remaining butter and set aside.
• In a food processor or blender, mix together the flour and almonds until finely ground.
• Add the sugar, cornstarch and salt, and mix again.
• Crack in the eggs one by one, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
  
• Pour in the melted butter, milk and rum if using, and mix again until well blended. The mixture will be thin, like crepe batter.
• Arrange the strawberries in a single layer in the prepared dish or ramekins.
  
• Drizzle the batter over the strawberries, and put the dish in the oven to bake for 40 minutes (30 minutes if you use ramekins), until puffy and set.
• Transfer dish to a rack, and let cool to room temperature.
  
• Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, and serve directly from the baking dish or ramekins.

Notes: A few more in my long line of didn't read carefully enough: I only just noticed that you're supposed to use blanched almonds this last time. I can say with confidence it will be just fine if you use almonds with their skins. She gives you enough melted butter for the recipe and to grease the pan, which I think is funny. Anyhow, the entire 1/4 cup of melted butter went into my clafoutis and my old friend pam greased the pan. No permanant damage was done.

I've used both a food processor and a blender to ground the almonds into a powder and both worked well but I have to say I think the blender did a better job. Her instructions tell you to make everything in said blender or food processor which I found to be kind of a mess. I ground up my almonds and then mixed everything in a bowl with a whisk.

I haven't used the optional rum and probably won't since I don't like rum. My roomie commented after tasting it today that she thought it could use "something" so maybe that something is the rum.

The finished product: a little bit sweet with a slightly eggy flavor reminds me of another dish I make called an apple pancake. The texture of the dough, when cooked, is very nice and custard-like isn't too far off. This keeps well in the fridge and I think would make an excellent breakfast or a great dish for brunch. This is a recipe that I will keep around and make again and again.