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Literary Friday: Baking With Fruit

Friday, December 27, 2013



This week I read Baking With Fruit, a Love Food book by Parragon.  This is one of the prettiest cookbooks I've ever seen:  The photography is truly gorgeous.  I found it at Books A Million on the sale table for $6.97.  It's hardcover, and has around fifty recipes.  The copyright says 2013, so I feel lucky to have found it at such a great price!

I enjoy cooking seasonally, and this book encourages the reader to bake treats with fresh, seasonal fruit.  It includes several classics, like apple pie and strawberry tartlets.  There are also some unusual recipes, like tamarillo cake with chocolate.  If you're wondering what a tamarillo is, it's a tropical South American plant of the nightshade family that bears edible egg-shaped red fruits.  This might be dangerous….

On Monday, I baked a clafoutis.  Beth told me that the clafoutis is the national dessert of France.  :D

Everyone loved it, and we had no leftovers!  The recipe in the book is for a cherry clatoutis, but I had some frozen blackberries, so I used them instead. Here is the recipe:

Cherry Clafoutis

Ingredients:
2 eggs, separated
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 T vanilla sugar or a few drops of vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
pinch of salt
pinch of grated lemon rind
2 T vegetable oil
1 2/3 cups pitted sweet cherries
confectioners' sugar for dusting
whipping cream, to serve (optional)

Procedure:
1.   Put the egg yolks, granulated sugar, and vanilla sugar or vanilla extract into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add the flour, milk, salt and lemon rind and beat until smooth.  Let rest for thirty minutes.
2.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3.   Beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, then carefully fold them into the batter.
4.   Heat the oil in an 11-inch ovenproof skillet.  Pour in the batter and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, until the underside is lightly browned.  Sprinkle the cherries over the surface.
5.   Transfer the skillet to the preheated one and bake for about 15 minutes. Slide the clafoutis out of the pan onto a cake plate.  Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve lukewarm with whipping cream, if using.

Makes one 11-inch clafoutis.

 photo 27774da3-6497-4bfe-ae02-58c3994ad5f7.jpg

Mr. Art @ Home loves blackberries! 


Until next time…

Happy Reading!
Ricki Jill

13 comments

  1. You would love the book I just finished last night! And guess what she makes in the book...this recipe! She cooks all kinds of amazing dishes but this is her fanciest. I'll try to get a review ready. Enjoy your day my friend! The book is "The Good Luck girls of Shipwreck Lane".

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  2. Yay! I love using fruit in baked goods....how fun to find new fruits through it, too. I can't wait to see what other drool-inducing desserts you make (and do try the clafoutis with pears or peaches...I think they work well with the egginess of the dough). :D

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  3. That looks like a great book at a great price.

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  4. Looks amazing!
    Thank you for sharing this:)

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  5. This French dessert is new to me, but just from reading the recipe I know I will like it. Must make this asap. '-)

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  6. This looks amazing, Ricki Jill! Gotta try cooking with fruit more often!

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  7. Just saw this and thought of you, since I remember you enjoying "Definitely Not Mr. Darcy" (which is in my TBR pile): http://austenesquereviews.com/2013/12/undressing-mr-darcy-karen-doornebos.html

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  8. So yummy! I gained weight just looking at your images!

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  9. Baking with fruit... Seasonal eating... What could be more perfect than this?!? :-)

    Happy "in-between-time",
    Tessa~
    'Here there be musing' blog

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  10. More time for reading . . . no time spent baking which will mean no opportunity for eating sweets . . . just a few plans for the new year.

    That clafoutis looks yummy!

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  11. Looks like a book very much worth owning. I love your photography of the dishes you make.

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  12. I love pretty cookbooks too RJ. I must say I don’t bake a lot of deserts like I once did so I’ve given a lot of my cookbooks to goodwill. This is a pretty desert and wonderful for serving during the holidays. Looks delicious.
    Have a safe and Happy New Year!

    Hugs from T-Town
    Emily

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  13. Hey Ricki Jill - clafoutis is one of my favourite desserts. My fav combo is peaches and blueberries. I haven't yet made a cherry one, even tho that is traditional. J

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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