My mom made a cherry clafouti for company when I was a little, and I’ve been smitten with the word *clafouti* ever since. Clafouti. CLAH- FOO-TEE. It’s a fun word to say. Go ahead, try it. See what I mean? I wish I could tell you that I was an immediate fan of clafouti, but unfortunately I can’t. When I was a kid, I wasn’t keen on anything that tasted like egg. There was an incident at a Mexican restaurant involving FLAN that totally scarred me. Flan is not the dessert you want to eat on your 9th birthday while you’re wearing an obligatory sombrero, trust me.  So when I tried a hunk of clafouti expecting it to be like cake, I was truly disappointed! Through the maturing process I have learned the beauty of an eggy custard-like cake batter. Isn’t growing up fun?

Those gorgeous strawberries I brought back from Driscoll’s found a home in this simple Strawberry Clafouti recipe! The batter required a quick whirl in the blender, much like the Chocolate Dutch Baby I recently made and the strawberries get all roasted and gooey delicious like those dreamy Roasted Strawberries I posted. There’s also no shortage of buttered crispy edges. I love crispy edges! And can we just take a moment for that beautiful spongy middle mixed with a crazy amount of sweet roasted strawberries? I’ve never made anything like it. Sprinkle powdered sugar on a hunk and you can call it breakfast. Or position a scoop of vanilla bean gelato on top and you can call it dessert! Clafouti. Keep saying it. CLA-FOU-TI!

And we’re off!

Put the cut up strawberries in a bowl & add the cornstarch. Toss well.

Line the bottom of your buttered casserole dish with the strawberries.

Blend the batter ingredients together.

Pour the batter over the strawberries. Slowly.

And now you’re ready to put it in the oven.

It’s done.

Now dig right in.

See that pile of clafouti dusted with powdered sugar?

Well that is pretty much heaven. A dessert disguised as breakfast!

Strawberry Clafouti

Serves 6-8

(recipe from Sunset Magazine)

• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 8 ounces strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 2-qt. baking or gratin dish with the butter. Toss strawberry halves with cornstarch until evenly coated, then arrange berries, cut side down, in bottom of dish and set aside.

In a blender, whirl eggs, milk, flour, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt 15 seconds. Pour batter over strawberries.

Bake until puffed, golden brown, and set in the center, about 50 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.