Strawberry Clafoutis with Almond Flour

What is a Clafoutis and Why We Love this Strawberry Version

The French Clafoutis (pronounced 'kla-foo-tee')or Clafouti is a speciality of the Limousin region in France. It's a light, set eggy custard that's traditionally made with cherries and flour.

For the classic French classic dessert, see my traditional cherry clafoutis recipe. However, I find some clafoutis recipes have too much flour, resembling a stick-to-the-top-of-your-mouth heavy cake-like dessert which can become a bit rubbery.

So, I replaced wheat flour with ground almonds or pistachios, making this a gluten free strawberry clafoutis. It's also a delicious way of enjoying a clafoutis in Spring, before the cherries arrive in early summer.

This recipe is so versatile during Summer made with mirabelle plums and apricots too! See ideal fruit combinations below.

Use fresh strawberries if you can, as they give the best flavour and texture. Frozen strawberries can work, but need to be thawed and well drained first (see tips below).

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 baked French 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 brûlée - either just with strawberries or with other berries added too.

Easy Strawberry Clafoutis (Gluten Free)

This gluten free clafoutis recipe couldn't be easier:

• First butter a gratin ovenproof dish then scatter over the fresh fruit in a single layer
• In a bowl, mix together the eggs, yolk, ground almonds/pistachios, cream, little sugar and some vanilla extract
• Pour over the strawberries. Scatter over some slivered almonds and bake for about 30 minutes.

This recipe is also delicious with wild strawberries - called mara des bois in French. They taste like voilet 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.

Almond Flour Clafoutis with Alcohol

Want to add that extra clafouti 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!

Don't want to add any alcohol? Then simply omit it, as it's entirely optional.

Strawberry Clafoutis Recipe - Quick Tip

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.

Recipes for a Lot of Strawberries?

It happens often when throwing them on maple granola isn't enough. 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! These recipes work for both fresh and frozen strawberries:

• Strawberry mousse
• Strawberry panna cotta with pistachio
• Rhubarb compote - use the same quantities for strawberries using this recipe
• Rhubarb and rose jam
• Top on French salted butter biscuits, Palets Bretons
• Rhubarb and strawberry crumbles with rose and white chocolate mousse.

What To Do When Stawberries are Starting to Wilt

However, the result of buying many strawberries in bulk means that there are a few that are already a bit fatigué or tired and starting to wilt. So this clafoutis recipe is ideal if your strobs are a bit on the tired side, as they're brought back to life!

Strawberry Clafoutis: Quick Questions

What's the Best Fruit for Clafoutis?

Strawberries give clafoutis a softer, juicier texture and a naturally sweeter finish than the traditional cherry version. Other fruits work beautifully depending on the season. Here are some ideas using the same gluten-free recipe batter with almond flour:

• Traditional cherry clafoutis - the classic French dessert
• Raspberry Clafoutis - sharper and more vibrant
• Blueberry clafoutis with lemon - if you have frozen berries to use up, my blueberry clafoutis works well with frozen fruit.
• Or go savoury with my white asparagus clafoutis with lemon.

Looking for more custard desserts like this? My e-book, Master Crème Caramel shows you how to make simple French custards that actually work at home - including seasonal fruit versions like rhubarb - without the usual guesswork.
Or join my French custard e-mail list for a quick free guide and more ideas.