Caramelised Fig Clafoutis
Compared to an oven baked pancake, this delicious clafoutis is spiked with jammy fig goodness, celebrating the arrival of Autumn.
Serves 4 (generously)
- 6 ripe black figs, stem trimmed and halved lengthwise
- 120g caster sugar
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 2 or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 3 eggs, separated
- 70g white spelt or white wheat flour, sifted
- 100ml double cream
- pinch flaked salt
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Start by placing half the sugar (60g) in an 18cm oven-proof pan. Place the pan over a medium to high heat, carefully melt the sugar, swirling to completely dissolve then allow to cook until deep caramel in colour. Carefully add the figs face down in the caramel along with the thyme sprigs and allow them to absorb the caramel for a few moments. Remove from the heat and swirl in the lemon juice. Set aside whilst you prepare the batter.
Place the egg yolks in a medium bowl with half the remaining sugar (30g). Whisk until pale and thick. Add the flour, cream, lemon zest and salt flakes and keep whisking until thick and just combined.
In another clean medium sized bowl whisk the egg whites with the remaining amount of sugar (30g) until stiff but not dry peaks form. Fold one decent dollop of whites into the yolks with a metal spoon to loosen the mixture, then follow with remaining white folding carefully to retain the lightness. It doesn’t matter if a few parts of the egg white remain visible. Pour the mixture on top the jammy figs and bake for 30mins until the batter has risen, is golden and set with no visible wobble.
Best enjoyed while still warm with cream or vanilla ice cream.
Courtesy of Slow Food Melbourne contributor and local foodie, Nadine Smith.
