Strawberry Clafoutis (Clafoutis aux Fraises)

Have lots of strawberries? Baking them in a strawberry clafoutis is a delicious twist to the French classic cherry baked custard and concentrates their flavours. With pistachios or almonds for a gluten free breakfast, dessert or teatime treat.

What is a Clafoutis?

The French Clafoutis is a speciality of the Limousin in France. It’s a light, set eggy custard that’s traditionally made with cherries – see this classic Cherry Clafoutis Recipe with a little flour. However, I find some clafoutis recipes have too much flour, resembling a stick-to-the-top-of-your-mouth heavy cake-like dessert.

Do try this gluten free twist to the classic using the ground almonds or pistachios – it’s a delicious way of enjoying a clafoutis before the cherries arrive.

This recipe is so versatile during Summer made with mirabelle plums and apricots too! See ideal fruit combinations below. I do stress that you use fresh strawberries if possible rather than frozen for this recipe, so that all the flavours are at their best.

What Can I do with a Lot of Strawberries?

It happens often. At our local French market in Saint-Germain-en-Laye near Paris, the sellers tend to sell boxes of them towards the end of the morning for a special price.  Well, tell a Scot there’s a promotion and it’s a deal! I love adding them to this rhubarb compote, in this jam, and in our favourite elegant strawberry desserts such as these rhubarb and strawberry crumbles with rose and white chocolate mousse.

However, the result of buying many strawberries in bulk means that there are a few that are already a bit fatigué – slightly tired and starting to wilt. So baking them at this ‘just becoming tired’ stage is perfect for making this Strawberry Clafoutis.

Are Strawberries Good for Baking?

Absolutely! As baking strawberries intensifies their naturally sweet flavours, this is utterly delicious. It’s the strawberries that dominate in this dessert. The ground pistachios or almond flour are quite subtle but adds that extra intrigue to the fruit, plus helps to soak up the juices.

As well as this strawberry clafoutis, we love them baked in this strawberry and elderflower gratin – either just with strawberries or with other berries added too.

Wild Strawberries (Fraises des Bois)

We’ve been blessed by the birds spreading a carpet of wild strawberries (fraises des bois) in the garden.  I thought that mint in the herb garden took over the other plants, but I’m now surprised to see the strawberries popping up in all nooks and crannies, as we say in Scotland.  They’re like tiny voilet-tasting candy (bonbons).

Can You Eat Clafoutis Cold?

The French normally serve a Clafoutis dessert still slightly warm from the oven or serve it at room temperature – NEVER hot. So this also makes it an ideal addition to your picnic basket.

However, my (French/Corsican) husband adores a chilled Clafoutis for breakfast. Try it – you’ll discover just how delicious it is cold vs warm.

Measurements in cups by volume are only given as a guide. I encourage you to weigh out your ingredients using a digital scale for continued successful results each time you make this. 

Summer Fruit French Clafoutis Ideas

What we love about this recipe is that it’s so versatile. By replacing the fruit, this French Clafoutis ends up having its delicious variations on a Clafoutis theme all throughout the summer.

So here are some ideas using the same recipe batter (gluten free) using ground almonds  (almond flour) instead of pistachios:

• Raspberry & Lemon Verbena Clafoutis
• Blueberry & Lemon Clafoutis
• Apricot & Lavender Clafoutis (chop up 3-4 apricots & add 1/4 tsp dried lavender)
• Mirabelle Plum & Almond Clafoutis
• The French classic, Cherry Clafoutis (this recipe is not gluten free, but more traditional using flour)

Adding A Touch of Fruity Liqueur for that Oh-là-là

Want to add that extra (optional) oh-là-là? Then pick a fruity liqueur that matches the fruit used: e.g. Chambord liqueur with raspberries, Kirsch for cherries – although Kirsch is great with all fruits!

Strawberry Clafoutis on Video

For the amount of fruit used, my general rule of thumb is to lay just enough fruit in a single layer in the pie dish then just pour over the batter. To show how easy this recipe is to make, see my video below.

 

Strawberry Clafoutis (Gluten Free Recipe)

This post was first published on 31 May 2018 but is now updated to include a video and demonstrate the different variations of the classic clafoutis recipe using ground almonds (gluten free).