A Clafoutis in a Pear Tree

I have this lovely old pear tree in the corner of my yard. I've only lived in this house for just a year and didn't really notice the tree last summer until the pears started to show...and fall and fall and fall.

Well, they still fall, but I managed to get out and pick a couple sacks full yesterday. One sack I left on the porch of a neighbor, the other became a clafoutis.

and what is a clafoutis? it's a simple dessert, very custard like with no crust...

most times the pears are sliced and placed neatly in a pattern ...I chopped mine into bite sized chunks, because the pears were quite firm. Plus, there was no way these funny shaped orbs would have ever looked even with all the carving away that was needed.



This is the final results... sprinkled with powdered sugar, drizzled with maple syrup...
it was delicious.

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Pear Clafoutis

• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3-4 large pears, peeled, cored, sliced or chopped
• powdered sugar
• Maple Syrup
  

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg. F. Butter and flour a 9-inch pie plate.

2. Beat eggs, sugar, salt to blend in a medium bowl. Mix in flour. Add milk, butter, vanilla & maple extracts and spices. Mix until smooth.

3. If you sliced your pears, arrange them on the bottom of the pie plate, if you cut them into chunks ... let the pieces fall where they may. Pour the custard over the pears.

4. Bake the clafoutis until it is set in the center and the top is golden, around 55 minutes.

5. After removing from the oven, let it set a few minutes to firm up and then sprinkle powdered sugar over it and serve with maple syrup drizzled over.

This would also be good with a soft whipped cream, dusted with fresh ground nutmeg. Other fruits can be used, I've also made this with plums and I need to try it with cherries, too.