Vegan Raspberry Clafoutis and Irish Cream, by Cristyn.

Cla-what!? You might ask. Clafoutis. Say it with me “klah-foo-tee.” Vegan raspberry clafoutis to be exact. Try saying it a few dozen times. It has a pleasant ring to it and is pretty fun to say. You might even find yourself making up a little song or chant. It is a strange word. Do you want to know why? Because it is not English, it is French. Yes my friends, we are going to hop across the big old Atlantic Ocean for this post and invade the art of French pastry…vegan style. But do not be intimidated!! This recipe, while still being absolutely phenomenal, is not nearly as labor intensive as it is to make say pain au chocolat or creme brulee. On the contrary, this was perhaps the easiest baked dessert I have ever made. Literally. There are fewer ingredients than you have fingers (assuming you have the standard set of 10), it is super cheap, and it requires a measly two vessels (a blender and a pie pan) which means only two dishes to wash!! This is great news for me since my hatred of washing dishes mirrors my love of cooking and baking in magnitude. I am constantly plagued with internal debate: will the satisfaction of the {insert food I am about to make here} be worth the {insert number greater than 3} dishes I will have to wash after?? Sometimes, I throw caution to the wind and start cooking/baking without weighing the aforementioned pros/cons. When this happens, my sink looks like this….

…sometimes for days. I know, I have first world problems. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  So. What is clafoutis you might ask? Why should you want to make it? And when are we going to get to the recipe? Clafoutis is a baked custard/cake/”country-dessert” filled with fruit that originated in the rural Limousin region of south-central France. The word clafoutis comes from the word clafir, which in the Limousin dialect of Occitan means “to fill up.” Get it? Because we are filling up the batter with the fruit! Traditionally, the Limousins would use cherries with the pits still in place, because the pits as they bake release an almondy flavor. Fascinating, you say!? I know! But since I couldn’t find cherries (fresh, frozen, or canned!) I went with some raspberries and it still turned out pretty darn good. Now to answer the second question. You should make this recipe because it is simple, delicious, and not too sweet. It is also very versatile. You can use whatever kind of fruit you want in it. And hey, it is kind of healthy??? Like there is no oil or butter in it, so maybe you could even serve it for breakfast?! I was first introduced to the magical clafoutis by my dear aunt Lisa probably nigh on a decade ago now. I still remember that first bite… the texture was somewhat otherworldly. It has a light flavor and delicate consistency that leaves your tastebuds blissful and content. Picture them with a self-satisfied smile, rocking back and forth in a hammock being blown gently by the wind. THAT degree of contentment.

NOW. For the love of God, when are we getting to that recipe!? Right after I go on a little belated tangent about homemade Irish Cream and St. Patrick’s Day. So, to the impatient (or disinterested) reader, please skip ahead. The recipe lies just after the ingredient drawing. As for the rest of us, FORGE ON!! Because the clafoutis is so lightin flavor, I thought I might be able to pair it with another sweet treat, of the drinkable variety. Now, I know this is not a BAKING recipe, but it goes quite well WITH baked goods… sooooo if you are interested, here is an unholy creation that will not leave you disappointed: homemade vegan “Bailey’s” Irish cream. I have a confession. The entire reason I chose to make clafoutis was so that I could make the Irish cream, and have something to eat while I was sipping on it. I know that this would have perhaps been more apropos a few weeks ago, say on March 17th. BUT LET ME TELL YOU. St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago is kind of miserable if you are not one of the drunken zombies staggering down the  middle of the street, bar hopping from one green beer laden den of sin to the next. I tried to venture out. I did. But I was barraged by this nagging feeling that I had entered a parallel universe (maybe I have been watching too much Fringe as of late) where it was socially acceptable to heckle , fist bump, and hit on innocent passers-by. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT. So I locked my doors, and shuttered my windows and forgot that dear old St. Patrick had ever existed (sorry). But now that I have had time to recover… I realized that I missed out on this great opportunity to make this sweet, creamy, boozey drink. So I righted this wrong. NOW ONTO THE RECIPE FOR REALZ!!

I followed this recipe from nom!nom!nom! blog, substituting frozen raspberries for the cherries:

Drawing:  ingredients

1/2 Package of vacuum sealed tofu (I used Mori-Nu Soft Tofu)

1/3 C. sugar

1/2 C. AP flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 C. (non-dairy) milk

1 tsp vanilla

Berries! Or cherries! Or any kind of fruit!

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Grease a 9″ pie pan. Now get out your blender. Hopefully you have a blender? Or a food processor? Or a mixer? Or a really strong arm? Blend, whiz, mix, stir, etc. the tofu and the sugar until well combined. {Now I know what you are thinking. Tofu??? GROSS. I too am skeptical of adding fermented soy beans to my desserts. I can’t stand tofu cheesecake; it just tastes like…well, tofu. But by Jove, in this recipe, Mr. Tofu worked beautifully}. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, milk, and vanilla. Mix it up. Really well. Pour it into your pie pan. Drop your fruit on top.

This is raw clafoutis.

THAT’S IT. Put it in the oven for 15 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350ºF and continue to bake for another 25 minutes. See how short this post could have been if I hadn’t ranted for first two-thirds of it?

When you take it out, it will be all puffy and pompous like a cake. As it cools, it will slowly deflate leaving it to look a bit more like a pie, with a raised edge/crust.

Mine came out a bit undercooked; I attribute this to my oven which has a mind of its own. I often picture my battles with it in terms of Kevin McAllister from Home Alone and the furnace. Anyways, my point is, even though I undercooked my clafoutis, it still came out remarkably delicious. As in I sort of ate half of it within a few hours of pulling it out of the oven. You know what made it even better? A side of FROZEN Bailey’s. That’s right. I put some of my Irish Cream concoction in the freezer and let it freeze. Then I put it in my blender with some of the liquid version. Then I drank it. You’re welcome for that gem.

This is baked clafoutis. Looks kind of the same, eh?

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