The last nominated film I am cooking for is Hugo. However, this dish is also a nod to Midnight in Paris and perhaps one more film as well. I can’t really say which film this dessert is also a tribute to, without spoiling the movie for those who haven’t seen it!
We still haven’t seen Hugo. I could have made a trip to the theater (I was wrong about Hugo showing on OnDemand), but I opted to catch up on Desperate Housewives instead. I’m not trying to dissuade anyone from watching Hugo, I just haven’t been jumping at the chance to watch a movie that looks like it is made for children, (but isn’t?). I am however, jumping at the chance to try my hand at all things French. For the actual ceremony tomorrow, I will be making a French dessert and cocktail. C’est magnifique!
Hugo is a 2011 3Dfamilymystery film based on Brian Selznick‘s novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret about a boy who lives alone in a Paris railway station and the enigmatic owner of a toy shop there. – Wikipedia
There is a French dessert which is easy enough for children to make, but better yet for them to eat! It’s called clafouti and is most often made with cherries. Because I don’t have an extra thousand hours or latex gloves to pit cherries, I chose to make a blackberry clafouti.
Clafouti is pronounced cla-FOO-tee, rhyming with ya-booty. The kids were fa-reaking out when this came out of the oven. Max was yelling, “Cookie!” Dallas chanted, “Pie! Pie! Pie!” Our dessert/breakfast could barely cool while I whipped some cream to serve up to my sugar-zealous children.
They were both wrong, by the way. Clafoutis are a meeting between custard and cake. They are light and a bit creamy with the denseness forming around the outside crust. I don’t feel too bad dishing this out for breakfast either, as this is a whole-wheat and naturally sweetened dish. It was probably better for them than any Eggo I might throw in the toaster!
- 1 Tbs. butter (for greasing pan)
- 13 packets of stevia or 1 T. plus 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup half-and-half
- 3/4 cup milk
- Pinch salt
- 2 pints berries
- confectioner’s sugar for dusting
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a deep 9- or 10-inch pie plate or a gratin dish of similar size. Add your berries and sprinkle it with a tablespoon sugar, then swirl dish to coat evenly.
- Beat eggs well, then add remaining sugar. Beat until somewhat thick. Add vanilla then flour, and beat again until smooth. Add the half-and-half, milk and salt, and whisk until smooth.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until clafouti is nicely browned on top and a knife inserted into it comes out clean. Sift some confectioners’ sugar over it, and serve warm or at room temperature.