Vegan Fruit-Topped Almond Clafoutti Cake with Chocolate-Almond Variation

My husband and I are off to Paris in celebration of our 20th (!) anniversary. (How can that be? I'm only 29. :) I won't be able to blog for about a week, but I should have plenty of yummy ideas a la Francaise to share upon my return. There is a vegetarian restaurant I want to try called Le Grenier de Notre-Dame, very near our hotel, Hotel Notre Dame, which is on the Left Bank, directly across the Seine from Notre Dame Cathedral. (I hope it is the perfect blend of historic character and contemporary urban chic that it looks to be!) In the meantime, I bid you a very fond adieu with my take on the classic French dessert: clafoutti.

I tried to create a vegan clafoutti previously, but it was an utter failure. However, I am happy to say that I have redeemed myself. When I recently made my Vegan Almond and Fresh Plum Tart, I thought that the filling, with a little flour and leavening added, would be perfect. And it was! The consistency may be a little more firm than traditional clafoutti, which is why I call it a Clafoutti Cake, but it is NOT cakey in any negative way. To me it's the ideal balance of custardy tenderness and enough body to slice neatly. Note that this dessert is superior when allowed to cool to room temperature. Almond paste has a very intense flavor and, as you know, heat allows flavors to "open up" even more. So cooling it achieves the best taste and what a yummy taste it is. Not too sweet and fruit topped, I think it also makes a nice occasional breakfast treat. Be sure to see the chocolate version following, which is perhaps best as dessert rather than breakfast.

1-12 ounce box firm Silken tofu
1-8 ounce can almond paste, broken up into small pieces with fingers
1/2 cup natural sugar + another tablespoon or so for sprinkling over fruit
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea or kosher salt
1 cup self-rising flour (I use self-rising flour because it's faster than measuring flour, baking powder and salt)
approximately 3-4 bananas, peeled and sliced about 1/3 to 1/2-inch thick or 1 pint fresh fruit such as pitted fresh cherries, plums, etc.
Optional Garnish: a tiny bit of powdered sugar sifted over the top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly grease and flour an 8 or 9-inch cake pan or well-seasoned skillet. Place first 5 ingredients in bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until very smooth, scraping downsides of bowl as necessary. Add flour and pulse just until combined. Scrape mixture into prepared pan and lightly smooth top. Cover surface with fruit, cut side down if using small stone fruit like cherries. Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of natural sugar and bake 30-32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center and near the side comes out clean or with just a hint of moist particles clinging to it. Run a knife around the edge and cool to room temperature. Sprinkle with optional powdered sugar if desired and cut into wedges to serve.


Chocolate Variation

Add the following to the first 5 ingredients to process before adding flour:
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 additional tablespoon natural sugar
an additional pinch of salt

Proceed with recipe as directed above. When I made the chocolate version, I topped it with fresh plum slices--about 16 or so of them--from a very large very purple plum. I've never particularly craved chocolate and plum together, but it was luscious.