French Berry Cobbler, more accurately known as clafoutis, is a quick and easy dessert that allows fruit to be a superstar. This easy one-bowl dessert is great served warm or room temp and I love it cold, too. With only 1/4 cup each of sugar and flour, it’s going to be your go-to dessert this summer!
“Summertime and the living is easy?” Ha! It’s still early in the season and I feel like time is racing past. Let’s all take it down a notch or two!
This issue of Good and Good for You Living shares
- Best Life Living tips on how to stop over-commiting.
- The Self-Care Technique of the week is surprising news about sun-sensitive moisturizers.
- Ideas and Inspo from a familiar Food Network chef!
Read on for more — and your fave new summer recipe for clafoutis.
Best Life Living Tip
Summer calendars fill up fast, which can easily leave us feeling downright overwhelmed. Do not be afraid to say no! Destress this summer! Choose how you spend your time and do not overcommit.
According to the Ford Institute, we overcommit to prove we’re successful, please other people, and to seek applause or validation.
Having a jam-packed schedule raises our chronic stress levels. The reality is that over-committing is a form of self-sabotage. Yikes.
YOU have to prioritize the events in your life. You are the only one who can do it.
Three Tips to Avoid Overcommitting.
- Schedule Exercise. Seems counterproductive to start a conversation about not overcommitting with putting something on the schedule. However, that’s the one thing that needs to be on your schedule. I know that exercise is my ME time. I like it first in the morning to start my day in a good mindset.
- Take a Look at Your Friends. If they do not bring you joy, you do not need to make time for the relationship. Yup, it sounds harsh, but I want more time with the people that feed my heart and soul, not those that diminish me. Be tough!
- Review your Schedule Take a look at the beginning of the week as well as every night so you have a clear idea of what you need to do. If you see it’s looking crazy, make the appropriate adjustments.
You can do it!
Self-Care Technique
As the weather heats up, your self-care routine might need a few tweaks. Heat, humidity, and outdoor activities can affect your skin and hair.
Take a look at your moisturizers: AHAs (alpha hydroxy acids) and retinol can make your skin more photosensitive and cause you to burn more easily.
“Ingredients that exfoliate or encourage skin cell turnover are the biggest culprits of causing photosensitivity,” says Deborah S. Sarnoff, MD, president of The Skin Cancer Foundation. “When you remove dead skin cells and expose the new, more delicate skin underneath, your skin becomes more susceptible to damage from UV rays.”
To combat the photosensitivity, only use those products at night, slather up with SPF 30 or higher, and make certain to accessorize with a fabulous hat!
Ideas and Inspiration from Experts
So excited for Palek Patel, author of the beautiful new cookbook Food is Love: Plant-Based Indian-Inspired Recipes to Feel Joy and Connection
Palek is a classically trained chef, restaurateur, and winner of Food Network’s Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, and a finalist on Food Network Star season 14. She also hosted a digital series called The Diwali Menu on Food Network Digital which is how we met. She’s delightful!
I was part of testing recipes for this delicious book through Culinary Media Training and Productions. Many of the recipes have made it into my regular rotation! You will love her Coconut Sauteed Green Beans and Lentil Pachori Lettuce Cups. The Vindaloo Mushrooms with Homemade Garlic Naan are flat-out amazing.
All of the recipes are bright, vibrant, and full of flavor. If you’re looking for an easy way to bring more plant-forward food into your eating plan, you need this book!
food styling credit Lori C. Horne
What is a Clafoutis?
Clafoutis is the quick and easy summer dessert you need in your life! It’s pronounced “kla·foo·tie” and is the French version of what we would think of as a type of cobbler.
Eggs feature prominently in clafoutis. This one is colored richly yellow from the eggs from free-range chickens. The recipe typically uses milk, but I’ve swapped it out for buttermilk. Reduced-fat buttermilk has the viscosity of heavy cream and makes a rich custard.
I first learned of clafoutis at Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne. Unpitted cherries are most often used in Limousin, the region of France where this summer dessert originates. While I love, love, love the cherry version, I’ve found that most Americans don’t like spitting out pits while eating dessert and there’s another subset that doesn’t want to spend time pitting cherries. Make it easy. Change the fruit!
You can make French Berry Cobbler or Clafoutis with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. You can also use sliced peaches, plums, or apricots. (I’ve bumped up the amount of fruit and have added some freshly grated ginger for a flavor boost instead of the traditional boozy embellishment. )
Point it Out for WW
I’ve been traveling the past few weeks and being a bit more indulgent in my eating and less dedicated to my exercise. Consequently, my weight has scooted up a bit. I used to get stressed about it, but I know fluctuations are normal.
So, I’ve pulled out my app again and will punch points for a few weeks to get things back to where they need to be. Remember, as long as you are doing things that are good and good for you more often than not, you are on the right track.
This easy French Berry Cobbler comes in at 4 WW points and 150 calories per serving. Let me know what you think!
Bon Appétit Y’all!
Virginia Willis
French Berry Cobbler aka Clafoutis
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds cherries rinsed, dried, and pitted, or strawberries, hulled and halved
- Light coating of Butter and sugar for the dish
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 2 cups low fat buttermilk or milk
- Candied Ginger, cut into strips for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 2 quart baking dish, and sprinkle it with sugar, turning and tilting until it is evenly coated. Spread the cherries in the dish. Set aside.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until light and frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the flour, vanilla, and salt and stir just until smooth. Stir in the buttermilk.
- Bake the pudding until browned and set, 50 to 60 minutes. Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled. Garnish with strips of candied ginger.
Nutrition
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Just curious what size dish would you use for this?
Thanks so much for reading and wanting to give it a try. I used a 2 quart dish. It serves 8 as is — and I think it could be halved.
Hey there Virginia, is there a way I can just save or print the clafoutis recipe pls!
There’s a button at the top that says print recipe. Does it work? Thanks for reading.
Wonderful recipe! Could you use GF flour on this? If so, what would be the best kind?
I think that you could use gluten-free flour and I’ve always had the best of luck with either King Arthur or Bob’s red Mill