I’ll be taking a little license with that phrase from “The Night Before Christmas,” but I think a dried plum clafouti comes pretty darn close to our concept of “sugarplum.”
A true sugarplum is a confection one makes with candied fruit covered in fondant.
And while we’re on definitions, clafouti is a country French dessert made by topping a layer of fruit, fresh or dried, with a batter. After you bake it, you serve it hot with warm cream. With all the muss and fuss that surrounds getting ready for Christmas, including the big dinner Christmas Eve or the bigger dinner on Christmas Day, this dessert is quick and easy.
And I promise you that it’s better than those factory-made fruit cakes you may have the misfortune of receiving as “gifts.”
(I have some friends in upstate New York who’ve been exchanging the same fruitcake for about 18 or 19 years now. The challenge is to wrap it so that it is unrecognizable.)
Back to the clafouti at hand.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and butter a pie plate. Then sprinkle sugar into the pie plate, move it around until the butter is completely coated by the sugar.
So here’s where I take my license by calling this a “sugarplum dessert.” Cut dried plums or prunes in half and distribute them over the sugar. I actually roll mine in the discarded sugar from the pie plate.
In a blender, add 3/4 cup of milk, 3/4 cup of cream, 3/4 cup of flour, two whole large eggs, one egg yolk and a pinch of salt and blend for two minutes. Add a quarter cup of sugar and a half teaspoon of vanilla and blend for another few seconds. Pour the mixture over the prunes.
Bake the clafouti in the middle of the oven for about 30 minutes or until it’s puffed and golden.
Traditionally, the French would pour a little warmed cream over each slice of clafouti. But you can do whipped cream or, if you’re feeling ambitious, make some crème Anglaise.
Warm a half cup each of whole milk and cream in a pan. If you have a vanilla bean, slice it open and scrape the seeds into the liquid along with the pod and cook until steam rises. If you don’t have a vanilla bean, use a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix two egg yolks with three tablespoons of sugar and pour the hot liquid over the egg mixture, whisking vigorously to incorporate everything. Then pour it all back into the pan and cook over low heat until the mixture thickens.
Cool the mixture, and then chill in the fridge. Crème Anglaise is also the base for French vanilla ice cream, but since it’s Christmastime and you’re busy, it’s okay to forget about making ice cream. Just file that away for June and July.
As you’re reading this, I’ll be on my way for my annual vacation and binge eating fest in Sint Maarten/Saint Martin. I’ll be sending my next few columns from there, waxing eloquent (one would hope) and complaining loudly (one hopes not) about the food and new restaurants I discover there.
So while I’m Stateside, let me wish all of you the happiest of holidays and thanks for your readership, your comments and your support.