Sunny Summer Sweetness from France

The Easiest Fruity French Dessert, Front-Row Olympic Antics, and Multiple Inspiring Women!

Coucou les amis,

Aujourd’hui je suis toute seule à la campagne (today I’m alone in the countryside) en préparant notre maison pour notre famille qui nous rend visite (getting our house ready for family who are visiting).

I’m sitting on our terrace, looking out at the pretty garden my mother-in-law Jeanette planned and planted long ago when there was nothing here but a plot of land. Wishing I’d had the chance to meet her, but sadly that was not to be, as she passed away before I met Monsieur B.

I feel her presence so strongly in the garden, in the stunning climbing roses and vines, the lush textured greens of trees and buissons (bushes), the delicate blooms that dance softly in the breeze.

We always have projects in progress outdoors, and recently while scooping pails full of invading slugs off the lawn, I asked my sister-in-law, “Should we hire someone to dig out that giant stump au fond du jardin (at the back of the garden) to make way for the new arch we want to put there?”

She nodded, thinking, then replied. “Hmmm, that’s going to be really difficult. My mom would’ve done it herself with an ax.”

Her mom, of course, was Jeanette. #legendary

Would you hack a giant tree stump out of the ground with an ax?

Scenes from Jeanette's Garden in the French countryside

I love the late summer in France, when things are slow and quiet and everyone is either coming home bronzés (tanned) from les grandes vacances (summer vacation) or getting ready to leave for somewhere fun.

Today I want to share a beautifully simple but charming French summer fruit dessert. It’s a Clafoutis aux mirabelles. If you don’t know what mirabelles are (they’re small, juicy yellow plums), or you can’t get your hands on them, not to worry! The key here is the clafoutis batter, which has a friendly, custardy cake vibe and it is so versatile, you can simply whip up a batch, throw your favorite fresh fruits in the bottom of a tart or cake pan, and just pour the mixture over the top. I love the sunny color of the mirabelles which are in season right now and are very sweet. So I don’t use a lot of sugar in the batter.

Also I call it a summer dessert because of the sweet yellow summer plums, but you can make it with other fruits too. I do different versions of clafoutis, so if you want to try your hand at a blueberry option, here’s another recipe!

Very Berry Clafoutis

But hey: If you’re not that into recipes today and you just want some updates from the Paris Olympics and a few laughs, ça marche (that works). Just scroll on down…

Allez, let’s gooo !

Clafoutis aux Mirabelles

Makes 6 portions and takes about an hour altogether.
That being said, with stone fruits such as cherries (another GREAT clafoutis option) and mirabelles, you have to make a decision. Veux-tu les dénoyauter ou pas ? (Do you want to remove the pits or not?).

There are opposing schools of thought about this in France, with some believing that leaving the pits in provides better flavor. Others counter that removing the pits provides better chances of not choking to death or breaking a molar. Fais attention ! (Be careful!)

INGREDIENTS

• 5-6 cups Mirabelles (yellow summer plums). If you’re substituting other fruits, you just want enough to cover your tart or cake pan in one layer of fruit)

• 1 cup all-purpose Flour

• 4 large Eggs, lightly beaten

• 1 Vanilla Bean, scraped (or 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract, or in France 1 packet of sucre vanillé)

• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar (as I mentioned, I like less sugar—if you want it a bit sweeter, use 1/2 cup)

• 2 Tbsp melted (and cooled) Butter (I use salted butter—if you don’t, you may want to add a pinch of salt to the recipe, or not!)

• 1 cup Milk

• 3 Tbsp Kirsch, Grand Marnier (or any Eau de Vie you may have lying around) (optional)

• Sugar (granulated or confectioner’s) for sprinkling on top at the end if you like!

PREPARATION

STEP ONE
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While it’s warming up, rinse and dry the mirabelles, then remove the pits from your fruits if desired. Spread the mirabelles evenly in one layer in a tart or cake pan (I like a not-too-deep classic tart pan for a more delicate, lighter effect).

STEP TWO
Make the batter. In a mixing bowl, add the eggs, the vanilla and the brown sugar, plus a pinch of salt if you like. Once the mixture is smooth, add the milk in stages, stirring it in to incorporate, avoiding lumps. Add in the Kirsch/ Eau de vie and the cooled melted butter (you don’t want it to cook the eggs in the batter).

STEP THREE
Pour the batter over the awaiting fruits in the tart pan. No need to stir, just shake the pan a little to make sure the batter coats the fruits. Put it in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Voilà ton clafoutis est pret ! (There you go, your clafoutis is ready!)

I like to let this dessert come down to room temperature before serving. It will puff up in the oven during baking and then might fall a bit, but that’s normal. For serving, it doesn’t need anything, but if you’re feeling extra you can add du sucre en poudre (powdered sugar), de la glace (ice cream) or de la crème fouettée (whipped cream).

Clafoutis is also really good the next day straight out of the refrigerator!

Scenes from les Jeux Olympiques à Paris !

And now for some Olympic fun!

When it came to the Olympics, last year Monsieur B and I looked at ticket prices and decided we’d wait till the last minute to see if we could get something more reasonable. But then tout à coup (all of a sudden) two of our favorite friends invited us to two different Olympic events—the very first football match between Spain and Uzbekistan, and then the absolutely incredible Olympic Beach Volleyball at la tour Eiffel ! The ambiance was magical and fun, the sun was blazing over the “beach” they built in the heart of Paris, and the athletics were incroyable (unbelievable).

We also happen to live right in the path of a couple of big events—the long-distance cyclisme (cycling) and le marathon, so from our actual apartment we’ve been able to do some spectating and cheering!

And then, in the mysterious ways of Instagram, this phenomenal woman/Olympic medalist in rugby suddenly popped up on my feed and I (along with her 3 million other followers) am now officially obsessed and inspired. She is such a superstar, plus she’s an advocate for body positivity in sports. She’s hysterically funny and she’s living her best Olympic life all over Paris—you must check her out if you haven’t already.

ilonamaher

A post shared by @ilonamaher

There Are So Many Inspiring Women

Recently the uber-elegant and inspiring Ajiri Aki (whose Substack Notes on Joie is always delightful) sent me a copy of a book I can’t believe I hadn’t already read, Julia Child’s My Life in France. This funny and wonderful memoir is just what I needed right now, and living here as a new Parisian and a new holder of the French Wine Scholar certificate, I feel so close to Julia and all her adventures.

Currently loving this marvelous memoir. And yes, that’s my Napoleon bookmark. Secret: You too can win a fun French bookmark and other little gifts from me by going to the “Leaderboard” tab on the La Flâneuse home page, or clicking the button below and referring your friends!

Thank you so much for being here. I love to hear from you, so please do leave a comment. It makes me so happy!

A bientôt mes chers et chères,

Karen