Malagasy fruity clafouti is certainly a dessert influenced by the French. They colonized Madagascar so French pastries and desserts are a loved remnant from that time. This custard dessert is also enhanced with the most prominent export product from Madagascar their famous vanilla beans. I was so excited to find Madagascar vanilla beans at my local supermarket but then nearly fell over at the price, almost $14 for two beans. Hopefully some of that money is getting back to the very impoverished Malagasy people. Sometimes this dessert is served cooked well-done which is almost cake-like or sometimes it is served almost like a pudding. This dessert is easy to make and can be made with just about any type of fruit. We enjoyed it with cherries and raspberries.
- 4 eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tablespoon Rum
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Vanilla bean split and scraped
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1 lb. sweet cherries, pitted (frozen or canned can be used just be sure to remove any excess moisture or juice.)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Butter 6 custard cups
- Beat the eggs and sugar until frothy
- Add the milk, rum and vanilla extract and seeds, beat until smooth
- Stir in the flour and salt
- Pour the batter over the cherries and place the cups on a baking sheet
- Bake fo 10 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the top has puffed and a toothpick comes out clean about 35 minutes. (note they will sink during cooling)
- Let cool on rack for about 20 minutes
- Enjoy!
