Part pudding and part pancake, clafouti is traditionally made with cherries, but it easily adapts to almost any fruit. The clafouti will emerge from the oven puffed and brown, but will collapse like a soufflé as it cools. In the winter, you can make clafouti with dried plums (prunes) using the variation below. Serve warm, sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar.
CLAFOUTI PRUNE VARIATION:
Simmer 8 ounces dried pitted prunes and 1½ cups full bodied white wine in a saucepan, uncovered, over low heat until the prunes are plumped and most of the wine has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Cool thoroughly. Pour the clafouti batter into the prepared baking dish and spoon the plums evenly into the batter. Top with bits of butter and bake as directed in the recipe.