Peach Clafoutis

It has been a marathon weekend creating dishes with double cream, why? A friend called me Friday afternoon and said she was at the local farmer and would I like some fresh cream that had just been bottled (in a jam jar) that morning. It would be rude not to accept fresh cream wouldn’t it? But I hadn’t expected to receive a whole litre of the most amazing thick double cream I have tasted. I know it is surprising, I live in New Zealand after all where dairy is one of our biggest exports, but I haven’t been able to buy double cream in the super market. I have seen thickened cream but I don’t want my cream thickened I want it natural. So it has been a few years since I ate double cream and I have to confess the first 3 spoonfuls went straight into my mouth from the jar, and there was me thinking I  would have trouble using a whole litre! Peach clafoutis was first on the list, then I made vanilla bean ice cream and of course needed a fresh apple galette to go with it. There was still some cream left so the only decent think would be to make some scones and and take them into work to enjoy a cream tea. It’s just as well we have a local pool in Muriwai where I could exercise all that off Sunday morning otherwise I would be rolling to work on Monday.

Here’s the clafoutis recipe, the rest will follow this week.

Ingredients – makes 4 individual

40g butter
1 peach
40g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
40g plain flour
1tsp vanilla extract
200ml double cream
a little icing sugar for dusting

Method

Heat the oven to 180C.
Grease and flour 4 ramekins.
Melt the butter in a pan over a gentle heat.
Add sugar to butter and whisk together for 2 minutes until pale and airy.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the mixture (it should be cool at this stage) and whisk together.
Sift the flour into the mixture and combine all the ingredients.
Core half the peach and remove the stone then slice into wedges.
Pour mixture into ramekins, top with peach slices and bake for 20 minutes. They should be firm but still wobbly!
Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.