apricot clafoutis
August 13, 2015 § 68 Comments
There are three very temperamental wild apricot trees down the street and during the six years we have lived here in the Cottage Grove neighborhood of West Seattle they have only produced two seasons of soft juicy fragrant apricots. Nobody takes care of these trees and it is difficult to tell whose property they are on. For all one knows maybe this is the reason for their oversensitive nature. Perhaps it is up to me to give them a little affection and show my appreciation for the fruit they unselfishly bear for no one other than a passer-by who happens to notice.
If you happen to come across six juicy ripe apricots here is a wonderfully easy dessert you can put together for your family or guests. You may dust the clafoutis with powdered sugar if you like. We prefer ours without. And it is delightful served warm with a ball of vanilla bean ice cream on the side.
Recipe adapted from William-Sonoma recipe catalog.
I n g r e d i e n t s
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 apricots, pitted and halved
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
M e t h o d
Preheat oven to 375°F. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to your baking dish and place in the oven for a couple of minutes, until the butter is hot and bubbly. Arrange the apricots in an even layer in the bottom of the dish. In a blender, process the eggs, milk, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, salt and flour until smooth. Pour the batter over the apricots. Bake until the clafoutis is puffed and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack.
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 
This looks delicious! We have a bunch of plum trees down the street and each year people stop to pick! So nice!
That’s great! It’s nice to have unowned fruit trees in the neighborhood. It brings a sense of community when you run across your neighbors gathering a bit for a pie. We have (way too many) blackberries on our street and folks are out plunking them on a daily basis. Thanks for your comment Lyn!
Sure! It looks like a nice easy and yummy recipe!
So wonderful! I need to make this. Do you think any stone fruit would do for this recipe? I’d love to use up some of our peaches!
Yes Kari! I think peaches would be perfect. Just yesterday my good friend baked friand’s with peaches and they were sensational. Let me know how they turn out if you give it a go. :)
What a great dessert for this time of year. Looks delicious.
Thank you Jovina. :) I thought the same thing…stone fruit is dripping off the trees as I type. What a great year for peaches and plums too!
I’m completely enamoured of the temperamental apricot trees and their oversensitive nature. I can relate to those trees! and i’m a tree-hugger. I really am. Please give them a hug from me.
I always love a clafoutis. What a beautiful post Seana.
Oh Lindy, you just made me laugh out loud! :) I will give those three trees a hug from you and maybe they’ll be full of apricots next year. Just yesterday I had a conversation with a 7 year old boy who told me he had been to a summer camp where they were trying to “talk” to trees. He said it was “stupid” because trees don’t talk. Anyway, always great to hear from you.
I haven’t yet started talking to the trees. But I like the idea. ;)
Hi Seana! I thought about you three different times yesterday, wondering how you were & here you are! One of the thoughts was “what can I do easily with blackberries…Seana would know” Can I substitute them for the apricots?
Absolutely! I don’t see why not. This is such an easy little cake to put together and I think the blackberries will look (and taste) fantastic. Clafoutis is traditionally made with cherries, but as much as I love fruit in my cakes and pies I know I would love it here. So great to hear from you! We still haven’t made it to a farmer’s market this season! Let’s do it! Is Columbia City still on Wednesday’s? Count me in.
Hi Seana, how lucky to have apricot trees near your home. Beautiful dessert…..
Hi Cheri! The apricot trees are old and a bit gnarly, but the two times (in the past six years) I have had the privilege to eat the apricots they have been delicious. I just noticed an Italian Plum Tree growing at the other end of the street on a slope and it’s FULL of plums right now. Again, not sure who’s property it is on…hard to tell. I think I’ll head over with a basket. :)
OH yum. This looks so good Seana. I LOVE that you have wild apricot trees growing in your street! Can’t wait for stone fruit season in Aus…
I grew up with a massive apricot in the backyard. We had so many that my mum would lug a big box to the local fruit store and swap it for a box of apples!
Yikes. Just re-read my comment. I grew up with a massive apricot TREE, not a massive apricot (that would’ve been very Roald Dahl)…
Ha! I love James and the Giant Peach! And what a great idea to trade apricots for apples. We have a “mess” of apples out front as I type. We can’t keep up with them dropping from the tree. My big black dog eats 2 or 3 every day! I hope those types of worms are okay for dogs… Stone fruit season is my favorite time of the year. We are having a magnificent peach season over here this year. So delicious I wish I could crawl inside just like James. :)
Isn’t it wonderful to “stumble” across something. I live in the inner city and there are so many little community garden “patches” tucked away in the most unlikely places on verges, nature strips and at the end of cul de sacs, all with a little sign to help yourself. I’ve lost count of the times I have wandered down the street mid recipe with scissors in hand to snip much needed herbs. Love the apricots. What a wonderful find.
What a great story Tanja! I love that you are able to help yourself to herbs “as needed”. And the little garden patches are lovely. We call them P-Patches here in Seattle, but I haven’t seen any help yourself signs. I think that is a wonderful sharing gesture.
It certainly lifts community spirit and is a real conversation starter when passers by realise that it’s there to share.
This looks like such a wonderful dessert! And how nice that you have apricot trees nearby!
This is my favorite type of dessert. Not too sweet, with a little fruit. It really is nice to have the apricot trees down the street, however, it would be even better if they produced fruit every year! :) Thanks Nancy!
How I long for the stone fruit season, just to eat the fresh juicy fruit, but then i think I’d have to try clafoutis with apricots too, I can imagine how good it tasted.
Berries and fruit are my favorite season. Seems like the only time I really enjoy baking is when I am able to add fresh berries and fruit to the recipe. Well…I love apple pie too (just like you and yours!)
Seana, your clafoutis looks superb, my favorite dessert during summer time! :)
Thank you Linda. Summer desserts are my favorite. I’ll take a slice of fruity pie or cake over chocolate anytime! :) This was my first clafoutis and I was really impressed both by the texture and the ease of putting it together. Small amounts of sugar and flour are always good, in my opinion. :)
Those are my trees! I will fine you one large slice.
I will happily pay up! Those darn moody trees…
What a delicious-looking dessert! I love fruity desserts as well, and would love to try this! Thank you for the inspiration!
Do make it Jenny! You’ll be delighted. It’s so simple and requires so little ingredients. We really enjoyed it! I’ll making another one this weekend using peaches. :)
Such a real recipe Seana! I mean what is there not to love about it! Warm, comforting, healthy (fruits??), soft, served with icecream, few ingredients, no complicated recipe…
Whoaaaaa!!! Amazing!! 😘😘☺️☺️
Saving it! I bet I can make it with some nectarines or peaches??
Clafoutis is kinda cake, right??
You certainly can make it with nectarines or peaches Sonal! I’m making one this weekend with peaches. The peaches this season are to die for. And yes, clafoutis is a sort of cake. Definitely try it, I think you’ll really enjoy! :)
😘
OK this looks absolutely amazing. What a delicious summer dessert idea! Cherries always come to mind when I think clafouti, so nice to see an alternative fruit being used here! Yum! :)
Yes, exactly…cherries are typically used in clafoutis and traditionally baked with the pits still in them. But, like you, I always seem to change things up a bit when following recipes! And you are right, this is an ideal summer dessert. :)
This is outstanding! I think I could even bake this!
For some reason I think you are saying that you don’t consider yourself a baker?? :) Well, honestly…neither am I! So, yes, if I can make this…you can bake this! :) It’s so easy. All the ingredients are blended in a blender and poured over the fruit, then baked. Voila!
Love it!
Indeed, this is the season for clafouts. Ripe fruits in season covers with delicious semi-custard cake. Yum!
Agree. Can’t think of a better dessert this time of year. I am about to put a clafoutis together with peaches. Delicious.
Oh how I wish we had apricots here. All we can find are those overly astringent ones that turn up from god knows where long after picking in the grocery store. But isn’t clafoutis the best dessert for good fruit? So easy and so delicious.
I’m familiar with those astringent apricots. Might as well eat cardboard! I’d trade some of these apricots for some of your Kentucky corn!
I’m yet to make a clafoutis Seana, but you’ve very much inspired me with this beautiful looking dessert! Can’t wait for apricot season… in fact can’t wait for any season other than winter! ;)
I’m feeling the same way about summer at the moment, although we had a serious monsoon two days ago! I love the abundance of fruits and vegetables during the summer, but I am finding my palate really prefers stews, soups and roasts. As for clafoutis…it’s surprising you have yet to make one! :)
I know… definitely time to rectify that! :)
Aren’t they one of the most delightful desserts? Then why don’t I bother to make them. And I even love the fact you can make the batter ahead of time. Come autumn I suppose I’ll use the oven more. How wonderful you can forage. With being so close to the coast there isn’t much around. Believe me, I’ve checked. :)
Hi Johnny! Clafoutis is so delightful that I made another one yesterday using peaches. Didn’t occur to me that you could make the batter ahead of time but what a great idea! Our street is a little hidden rural secret in the city. (we don’t even have sidewalks!) But up and down the street we have apple, cherry, apricot, plum, blackberries and even grapes growing in what appears to be unattended lots, so it’s open season. Just show up with a bucket! :)
Seana, it is great that you are a “caretaker” of those trees, of sorts. What a beautiful recipe for a fruit that would have gone by the wayside.
It’s true! The fruit is just falling from the trees and rotting. Hopefully other folks living up and down the street have noticed them and are taking advantage of it. :)
Seana– luscious recipe! Love fruity, crazy desserts in the summer. We have a uncooperative apricot tree Larry planted for my birthday in our backyard. To make this, I’m going to have to trot off to the market and find some apricots. thanks!!
What a nice birthday present! So your apricot tree is a bit moody too. Well, hopefully the apricots at your market are nice and juicy this year. :)
Sadly, he apricots at the market are not that great. But I do have a dear friend with a wonderful gnarled old apricot tree. I may need to go begging
Love this recipe! I used to have an apricot tree in my garden but sadly it had to be cut down a few years ago as it was infected with fungus and there was nothing we could do to save it. Best wishes. Emma xx
That is sad. It’s very bothersome to have to cut down a tree, especially if it’s a fruit tree. I improperly planted a nectarine tree a few years ago and lost it and that really bothered me! Best wishes to you as well Emma!
I just made this using plums! It was DELICIOUS! I foresee many more clafoutis in our future! Now I’m being begged and hounded by the kids for more…looks like I’ll just have to eat it all so I can put them out of their misery :)
I’m so glad to hear you made one with plums! I ended up making another one Saturday using peaches and that was really good too! I’ll try it with plums. Thank you for the feedback! :)
I just don’t get it when people doesn’t take advantage of the wonderful fresh produce that they have available to them! This Apricot Clafoutis looks delicious and it is such a beautiful dish.
True. I anticipate fresh seasonal produce every year. Can’t wait to try your skillet pie!
Thank you!
Apricot Clafoutis looks delicious
Thank you so much Maria. So nice to see your presence here. :)
love your classic dessert -looks perfect for winter.
Thank you so much. :) I agree…winter would be a perfect time to whip up a clafoutis…or two.
[…] I first saw a recipe for Clafoutis here at Cottage Grove House I knew the recipe was destined to grace our dinner table. The ease, the […]
Beautiful clafoutis, beautiful post. I love this Seana. I need to come by more often…I’ve missed you, your beautiful posts, your beautiful photos, and delicious recipes….but mostly you. <3
Thank you so much Prudy. It’s so nice to hear from you and I feel the same…I miss keeping up with you and your beautiful blog too. You have really made some stunning changes to your look. I’m so glad you stopped in and said hi! :)
Cherries and apricots are both in season together, and combine nicely in many desserts I use half almond flour and half all-purpose flour in this clafoutis Serve it warm or at room temperature, and eat leftovers for breakfast.
A slightly wild apricot tree is such a strange concept to me, it’s not common in Australia (at least where I live) to have anything edible growing in the wild – if there did happen to be one down the street, everyone would be fighting to claim the fruit (apricots are SO expensive here!). I love the look of this gorgeous clafoutis though. I can definitely imagine eating it with that ball of vanilla ice cream! x