Tuesday, July 21, 2009

My First Hello, and a Cherry Clafoutis

Hi all! Except "all" is a reach, because this blog is still an infant! The only readers as of now are probably me, myself, and I. My name is Gabriela, and I love to bake. I also love to write, so what better fits the profile then a baking blog?

Some interesting tidbits about me:
I am a vegetarian.
I am in high school.
This is my first blog!
I have two dogs, they are the loves of my life. Rest assured this is not the last time I will mention Teddy and Sammy.
I run cross country in the fall and track in the spring. Running keeps me sane, it's a great way to release any and all negativity from my life.
I recently began practicing yoga, and it has become something very important to me in the short time I have known it.
I love, love, love, love, love, love to bake.

The things I bake and share with you all will be a mishmash of different tastes and styles, based on what I feel like making. As a kickoff for this blog, I made a cherry clafoutis, but unfortunately it was half demolished by my family (cough, myself) so pictures will not be making it onto the site today. Thank you for sharing in the start of "baking, just because" with me, and please check back soon!

Cherry Clafoutis
via Simply Recipes

Traditional clafoutis recipes call for using cherries with their pits still in, which are supposed to lend some almond flavor to the dish. In this recipe the pits are removed, making the clafouti easier to eat, but you can do it either way.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of fresh sweet cherries, pitted
  • 2 tablespoons of slivered almonds
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1/8 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 cup of whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons of Amaretto -or- 3/4 teaspoon of almond extract (Gabriela note: I used almond extract)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • Powdered sugar for dusting

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and lightly flour a 9X9 or 10X7 baking dish. Toss in the cherries and slivered almonds. (Gabriela noted: I used a 9 inch round dish, which worked beautifully)

2 Whisk the eggs, sugars, salt, and flour together until smooth.

3 Add the milk, Amaretto (or almond extract, if using), and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Pour into the baking dish.

4 Bake for 40-50 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. When you pull it put of the oven it will wiggle a bit which is normal. Place on a wire rack to cool. The clafoutis will have puffed up quite a bit and will deflate while cooling. When cool dust the clafoutis with powdered sugar. Serve.

Serves 6.