All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008 through 2025

Thursday, June 18, 2009

coconut and apricot clafoutis in lemon balm and vermouth honey syrup







I never cease to be amazed how recipes have a way of going their own way, in spite of a clear image of how you want it to look and taste. Case in point: these clafoutis. I bought the apricots carefully - they felt slightly soft to the thumb, so I thought they would be ripe. Once sliced and bitten into , the slices seemed to need a little pizazz, so I made up a delightful honey, vermouth, and lemon balm syrup to slightly poach them in.
As I whizzed the clafouti batter and poured it into the assortment of dessert dishes, I ran out of apricots for the last dish, so threw in some dried coconut. Wouldn't you know that was the clafouti I liked best? From now on, I'm going with coconut and maybe some fresh raspberries for a simple and fresh dessert. I liked the apricot, but I loved the coconut.
I used both shallow and deeper souffle dishes, as an experiment, and ended up preferring the deeper dishes.

The poaching syrup:
In small saucepan combine:
2 sliced apricots
2 T. honey
a few scrapings of lemon zest
a small piece of vanilla bean
1 T. dry vermouth
pinch nutmeg
pinch cinnamon
2 large lemon balm leaves, sliced ( or basil leaves, which are amazingly delicious)
Simmer briefly, stirring gently. Remove from heat.
Butter little souffle or ovenproof dishes.
Preheat oven to 340F.
Batter:
1 cup milk
1/4 cup medium or heavy cream
3 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1/8 t. salt
1/2 cup King Arthur flour
1/3 cup sugar plus more for sprinkling
Whiz in a blender.
Pour batter about 3/4 way up dishes, then place several slices of apricot in each dish, if using apricots. Drizzle a little liquid in as well.
For the coconut clafouti, sprinkle about 1/2 cup dried, sweetened coconut into the dish and cover with batter. Drizzle a little poaching liquid on top.
Place dishes on a baking sheet, sprinkle with sugar, and bake until slightly puffed and firm, approximately 30 minutes.
Serve warm. Makes 4 servings.
Enjoy!

10 comments:

Martha said...

I love basil with fruits -- these look good and since lemon balm runs rampant in my garden I'll have to try the recipe both with apricot and with coconut.

Mumsy said...

Incredible! I can't wait to try this. I have everything except for the lemon balm, but I have basil. :)

katrina said...

Martha - you are way ahead of me - I never tried basil with fruits before but I sure will again! Report back, if you would - I'd love to know which YOU liked best! Thanks so much -

K.

katrina said...

Hi Lindsey - yet another basil and fruit lover! Where have I been? Will be so interested in your take on this - and now, off to see your new chile recipe!

lisaiscooking said...

Sounds like a delicious experiment! They both look great.

katrina said...

Thanks, lisa! Wouldn't you know it - I liked the apricot clafouti better today - ate it chilled & yum!

Chef Fresco said...

What a perfect little treat! Pretty too! :)

katrina said...

Thanks, Michael and Jessi! Is anything more fun than messing about in the kitchen? I think not, and enjoyed experimenting ( plus learn something every day from other cooks)
Just love it!

Diana Bauman said...

This looks amazing. With so many different variations of clafoutis out there, I'm going to try my hand at one! Thanks for the inspiration!!

Diana

katrina said...

Diana - they are so easy! I love the traditional cherry ones, but, really, you can let your imagination fly with clafoutis!