Stissing House chef/owner Clare de Boer shares her mouthwatering clafoutis recipe, which features rhubarb and just the right amount of orange peel.
Known locally as the chef/owner of Pine Plains’ historic Stissing House, Clare de Boer is also beloved for her cooking at King, located in Manhattan’s West Village. There, along with chefs Jess Shadbolt and Annie Shi, de Boer crafts Mediterranean-style cuisine inspired by seasonal ingredients and the flavors of Italy and Southern France. In the trio’s first book, The King Cookbook, they walk readers through foundational cooking skills, helping you work your way up from pantry staples to elevated dishes.
Recipe: Clafoutis
Course: Dessert, BreakfastCuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Medium6
servings15
minutes40
minutes1
hour10
minutesKing’s small kitchen allows for only 10 of these a night. Served straight from the oven and sent to the table in its cast-iron pan, the clafoutis is always well received by the lucky few. Scoops of our Fior di Latte Ice Cream alongside, or right on top, is standard practice.
Ingredients
- For the roasted rhubarb
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1 pound rhubarb, rinsed
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⅓ cup granulated sugar
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2 or 3 strips of orange peel removed with a vegetable peeler
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½ vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped out and reserved
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Finely grated zest of ½ orange
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1½ cups whole milk
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1⅓ cups heavy cream
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⅓ cup plus 1 Tbsp almond flour
- For the batter
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Unsalted butter for greasing the pan
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1½ cups granulated sugar, plus more for dusting
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6 large eggs
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¾ cup all-purpose or 00 flour Powdered sugar for finishing
Directions
- To make the roasted rhubarb, preheat the oven to 350°F. Top and tail the rhubarb, cutting away any fibrous end bits. Slice the stalks into 2-inch lengths. Spread them out in a medium roasting dish that holds them in a single, uncrowded layer. (If necessary, use two dishes.)
- Sprinkle over the sugar and orange zest. Toss to coat the rhubarb and then allow it to macerate at room temperature until things get a bit juicy, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Splash over 2 tablespoons of water and spread the fruit out once more. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake in the oven until the rhubarb is soft, but not falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes. Rhubarb has an uncanny way of suddenly overcooking, so check frequently. When it is cooked, remove the dish from the oven and let cool completely. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.
- To make the clafoutis, grease a large, heavy skillet, about 10 ½ inches in diameter, with softened butter. Dust the inside of the pan with sugar, tapping out excess. Add the just-cooked rhubarb to the pan, taking care to leave all its pretty juices behind in the roasting dish (these will go into the custard soon enough).
- Place the eggs, sugar, vanilla seeds, and orange zest in a large bowl. Whisk to combine and then stream in the milk and cream, whisking all the while. Stir in the almond flour, all-purpose flour, and reserved rhubarb juices until completely smooth; feel free to use an immersion blender.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the oven until the clafoutis looks puffed and golden, 30 to 35 minutes. When prodded, the custard should feel firm at the edges but a little wobbly in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- While it’s still warm, dust the top of the clafoutis with powdered sugar and march the pan to the table.
Notes
- Special Equipment: A heavy ovenproof skillet about 10 ½ inches in diameter.
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