French · Authentic-ish French
Clafoutis
157 kcal a serving, against 261 for the traditional version. That is 104 kcal off, or 40%, with 6g of protein. Serves 8. 1 hour.
What the traditional version is
A serious amount of whole milk and double cream, beaten together with 4 whole eggs, plenty of sugar and white flour. The thick batter is poured over whole, unpitted sweet cherries in a heavily buttered dish. It goes into a hot oven until the edges rise up and the centre sets into a rich, dense custard.
What changed, and what each change costs
100g of double cream entirely for semi-skimmed milk
There's no getting around the fact that double cream tastes incredible, but it drags the fat content right up. Swapping the rich dairy for semi-skimmed milk thins the batter out while keeping the exact volume you need.
What it costs you. You lose that incredibly luxurious, thick custard texture in the centre. The dish ends up slightly lighter and less dense, which traditionalists will absolutely hate.
Half the whole eggs for pure egg whites
Egg yolks are brilliant for richness, but I want the structural lift of the eggs without the heavy fat. Dropping 2 yolks and replacing them with 120g of extra whites gives the batter the binding it needs to puff up.
What it costs you. The baked batter loses some of its deep golden colour and that yolky flavour. It eats a bit more like a thick baked pancake than a tightly set custard.
120g of caster sugar down to 60g
Traditional French puddings lean heavily on refined sugar. I cut it by exactly half because cooked cherries are already intensely sweet on their own.
What it costs you. The crust doesn't caramelise quite as fiercely around the edges of the dish. If you have a massive sweet tooth, you'll definitely notice the drop.
The numbers
| Per serving | Traditional | Lightened |
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 261 | 157 |
| Protein | 6.5g | 6g |
| Fat | 10.4g | 3.2g |
| Saturated fat | 5.7g | 1.5g |
| Carbohydrate | 37g | 27.2g |
| Protein per 100 kcal | 2.5g | 3.8g |
Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish French prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked.
Allergens. eggs, milk, gluten.
The method is in the book
A lighter, fruit-heavy pudding that feels completely different to the original, then. Not a rich, heavy custard, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. The edges still get a brilliant chew to them, and the cherries burst into sweet pools of juice. I actually prefer eating this version after a big meal. You get all the comfort of a warm baked dessert without feeling completely destroyed afterwards.
The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish French, along with 54 more. Buy the paperback