Blueberry and almond clafoutis with cardamom cream

A traditional French clafoutis is made with cherries, but I love the unique, perfumed sweet sourness of blueberries. They also go so well with almond!

Credit: Ebury Press / Dan Jones

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  35 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

The ground almonds make this slightly less custard-like than a typical clafoutis. Instead, it has more texture and flavour, like a deliciously light cake batter. Serving with a cardamom cream may sound peculiar, yet the combination of the citrusy, aromatic spice with the vanilla notes in the sweet berries really does work. I like to call this bluefoutis, but maybe that’s just me!

Ingredients

• a small knob of butter, for greasing
• 100 g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 250 g fresh blueberries
• zest of 1 lemon
• 125 ml full cream (whole) milk
• 150 ml thick (double) cream
• ½ tsp almond extract or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 30 g plain flour
• 40 g almond meal (ground almonds)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt

For the cardamom cream

• 250 ml thick (double) cream
• 3 tsp icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
• seeds of 4–5 cardamon pods, crushed

Cooling time: 5-10 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Grease a 20cm ovenproof baking or pie dish with the butter and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar to coat the inside.
2. Put the blueberries in the bottom of the dish and scatter over the lemon zest.
3. Mix together the milk, cream and almond extract. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and frothy, then stir in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Gradually pour the milk mixture onto the eggs, whisking all the time, until the batter is smooth and creamy, but being careful not to overmix.
4. Pour the batter over the blueberries and sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes or until puffy, golden and just set with a slight wobble in the middle.
5. Meanwhile, whisk the double cream and icing sugar together until soft peaks form. Fold in the cardamon until well combined. Chill until needed.
6. Remove the clafoutis from the oven and transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5–10 minutes. The clafoutis will deflate a little as it cools, but don’t worry! Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature, topped with a spoonful of the cardamom cream.

 

Extracted from Ainsley's Good Mood Food by Ainsley Harriott (Ebury Press, hb $43.99). Photography by Dan Jones.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

The ground almonds make this slightly less custard-like than a typical clafoutis. Instead, it has more texture and flavour, like a deliciously light cake batter. Serving with a cardamom cream may sound peculiar, yet the combination of the citrusy, aromatic spice with the vanilla notes in the sweet berries really does work. I like to call this bluefoutis, but maybe that’s just me!