I always forget how long it takes to pick a decent amount of wild blueberries!
I went out into the woods this weekend and in about an hour I only managed to pick a few handfuls. To make the most of my precious berries I cooked up a simple sauce with just a squeeze of lemon juice and served it with a quickly whipped up clafoutis. For this plum clafoutis with hazelnuts and blueberry sauce I used pretty tiny plums from the orchard and the last of the hazelnuts I picked last year. I sprinkled the hazelnuts on top, but also used finely ground nuts in the base for an extra nutty taste.
plum clafoutis with hazelnuts and blueberry sauce
serves 6-8
± 6-8 small plums (or cut larger plums into quarters)
70 g / ¼ cup caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
160 ml 2/3 cup whipping cream, at room temperature
4 eggs
½ cup crème fraîche, plus extra for serving
25 g / 3 tbsp all purpose flour
25 g / 3 tbsp finely ground toasted hazelnuts
3-4 g hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
icing sugar
also needed: quiche pan or baking tin of ± 26 cm / 10 inch Ø, greased and sprinkled with sugar
blueberry sauce
100 g / ½ cup wild blueberries (or use blueberries)
50 g / ¼ cup sugar
2-3 tsp lemon juice
Make the sauce by bringing the blueberries to the boil in a small pan with ½ tbsp water, sugar and lemon juice. Cook over low heat until all the berries have popped. Remove from heat and serve hot or cold.
Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Place the plums (with their stones!) in the baking tin.
In a blender, mix the eggs with the sugar, crème fraîche, flour, ground hazelnuts and a pinch of salt as short as possible to form a smooth batter. Carefully pour the batter around the plums.
Bake the clafoutis in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and well risen, but still a little wobbly in the center. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts and possibly some icing sugar. Serve warm with the blueberry sauce.
Vegan option
For the vegan version of this recipe, use a vegan batter: In a blender mix 350 g silken tofu, 170 ml plant based milk, 100 g caster sugar, 110 g flour, 80 g finely ground hazelnuts, 30 g cornflour, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 30 g melted plant based butter, zest and juice of 1 small organic lemon, a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp carrot juice (optional for a slightly more yellow color). Prepare and bake as in the recipe above.
More berry desserts ? Check the recipes for roast fig leaf crème brûlée with blackcurrants or the Dutch baby with mixed berries.
