My Carolina Kitchen’s version of Café de la Poste’s Le Clafoutis Poire with Amandes

3 cups peeled, cored, and sliced ripe pears (1 ¼ to 1 ½ lbs pears)

¼ cup sweet white wine, kirsch, or cognac

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Batter:

Liquid from the pears and enough milk to equal 1 ¼ cups

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour

An electric blender

A 7-8 cup lightly buttered, fireproof baking dish or Pyrex pie plate

Garnishes:

Sugar to brûlée the top of the clafoutis

Toasted almonds, optional

Powdered sugar

Whipped cream or crème fraîche, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use fresh pears in season and let them stand for 1 hour in the sweet white wine, kirsch, or cognac and sugar.

Place the batter ingredients in your blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover & blend at top speed for 1 minute. Pour a ¼” layer of batter in the lightly buttered baking dish or pie plate. (If you are making individual clafoutis, divide the batter between 6 to 8 small ceramic ramekins, depending on their size and proceed with recipe.) Put in the oven to let the batter set. Remove, spread the drained pears over the batter, then pour on the rest of the batter and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.

Place in middle position of preheated oven and bake for about an hour. (If you are baking the clafouti in individual ramekins, I would check them at 45 minutes to see if they are done.) The clafouti is done when it has puffed and browned and a needle or knife plunged into its center comes out clean.

Sprinkle the clafouti with a little sugar evenly on the top and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar caramelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the sugar caramelizes and hardens. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and a dusting of powdered sugar. It need not be served hot, but should still be warm. It will sink down slightly as it cools. If desired, serve with whipped cream or crème fresh sprinkled with brown sugar on the side.

Cook’s notes: Many other fruits are great in a clafouti, including cherries (recipe in this post), peaches, blueberries, or raspberries.