Brown butter hazelnut clafoutis

A dense, custardy and delightfully wobbly French-inspired dessert that showcases glorious late-summer stone fruit. The nutty brown butter really takes proceedings to another level. 

Ingreadient

 

• 20g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 80g golden caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp
• 400g stone fruit (such as cherries, plums or apricots)
• 60g plain flour
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 270ml milk
• 20g blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• Icing sugar, for dusting
• Crème fraîche, to serve

Step by step

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Grease a 1.5-2-litre ovenproof dish or tin, then sprinkle over 1 tbsp caster sugar to cover the base and sides; shake out the excess. Halve the fruit and remove the stones (if using cherries, stone them but keep the fruit whole), then put in a bowl with 1 tbsp sugar and toss together. Set aside.
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl, then stir through the salt and the remaining 80g sugar. Whisk in the eggs and milk until you have a smooth batter. Arrange the fruit, cut-side up (or the whole, pitted cherries), in the base of the dish or tin. Pour over the batter and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown, just set and still wobbly.
3. Just before the clafoutis is ready, put the hazelnuts and butter in a small pan set over a medium-high heat and cook for 3-5 minutes until the butter froths up, the nuts turn golden brown and there is a nutty aroma. Spoon the butter and hazelnuts over the clafoutis. Sift over the icing sugar and serve immediately with crème fraîche.