The second request I received came through the All Day I Dream About Food Facebook page, from Kay. She wanted to see a really creamy low carb clafoutis recipe. Never one to back down from a challenge, I knew I had to take this on. It certainly didn’t hurt that I’d been thinking of making clafoutis for quite some time. Not only had I never made clafoutis before, I am fairly certain I’ve never even tasted it, but I always loved the look of it on other blogs. And it seemed like a simple enough dessert to make, somewhere between a custard and a cake. Since it doesn’t contain a lot of flour to begin with, it seemed perfect for a gluten free, low carb makeover.
Sadly, the first thing that had to go were the cherries. The typical clafoutis is a cherry clafoutis, and I adore sweet, ripe cherries. But they aren’t particularly diabetic or low carb friendly. Thank goodness that my beloved raspberry, which is relatively low in carbs and high in fiber, was willing to play the roll of the cherries in my version. I knew I would be replacing the wheat flour with almond flour, and I thought it would be nice to bring the almond flavour to the forefront, as almonds and raspberries go so well together. I sprinkled the top with sliced almonds and a little additional erythritol. And since clafoutis strikes me as a rather “grown up” dessert, I thought I would throw a little Amaretto in there to really play it up.
I consulted quite a number of clafoutis recipes online, and what struck me most is how much they all varied. Some contained quite a bit of flour and less eggs, making the dessert more cakey, and some were heavy on the eggs and light on the flour, making more of a custard. Kay requested a creamy clafoutis, so I opted to lean more towards a custard, heavy on the eggs and cream. But knowing that almond flour behaves very differently than wheat flour, I also opted to add a bit more of it to give the dessert some structure (i.e. so it didn’t sink too much in the middle after being baked!). All of this was really a shot in the dark, because I really had no idea how it would turn out.
The Results: Having never made or tasted clafoutis, I really have nothing to compare this to, and I have no idea whether it will live up to Kay’s expectations. What I can tell you is that it’s delicious, with a perfect balance of raspberry and almond flavours. It was definitely more custard than cake, very moist and dense and studded with fresh berries. It wasn’t exactly “creamy” in texture, the way a creme brulee or a pudding would be. It was thicker than that, but it also didn’t have the crumby texture of a cake. From all the descriptions I have read of clafoutis, it seemed about right to me! And the sliced almonds on top became almost crisp, adding a nice textural difference to the rest of the dessert.
Perhaps Kay will do me the honour of giving it a go and letting me know what she thinks! Or if she tinkers with it and makes some modifications, she can suggest them to me. But I do love this as is and can definitely recommend it as a delicious dessert and a fabulous use of fresh raspberries. It’s actually really great for breakfast too. I should know, I had it two mornings in a row.
Raspberry Almond Clafoutis
¾ cup almond flour
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon granulated erythritol
4 large eggs
½ cup whipping cream
2 tablespoon Amaretto (optional)
½ teaspoon almond extract (increase to 1 teaspoon if omitting Amaretto)
6 drops stevia extract
1 cup fresh raspberries
¼ cup sliced almonds
Preheat the oven to 325F and butter a ceramic or glass pie or tart pan.
Whisk almond flour and ¼ cup granulated erythritol together in a small bowl, breaking up any clumps with the back of a fork.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs, cream, Amaretto, almond extract and stevia extract until thoroughly combined. Whisk in almond flour mixture until smooth.
If you have time, let mixture rest at least half an hour.
Arrange raspberries over the bottom of prepared pan and pour batter over. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and remaining 2 tablespoons of erythritol.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set and top is light golden brown.
Serves 8. Each serving has a total of 15.4g of carbs and 3.4g of fiber, but only 6.4g of carbs if you subtract erythritol. Total NET carbs = 4g.
Free Spirit Eater says
Oh my goodness this looks like the perfect snack. Wow! My stomach is making noises it looks so good. Looks soft and moist, great photos. Thanks so much for sharing! =]
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
That clafoutis looks amazing, another wonderful looking low carb recipe! Such a gorgeous dessert, nicely done!
sliceofmylyfe says
It is really sweetof you to take up people's requests and try to do them the best that you can.
Excellently done. Love the way the dish looks.
Mike@ The Culinary Lens says
Looks like you made it work. Thank you for sharing your thought process. I think this is an example of needing fundamentals before getting creative.
Maris(In Good Taste) says
I think you can consider this an unqualified success! looks fantastic!
Kari says
Both of the requests you received are dishes I'd love to make, so this makes me rather happy too. And it certainly looks like you've done this one justice!
Lisa~~ says
Perfect for me not having added sugars and I love almond and raspberries together, can't wait to try this.
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
The Harried Cook says
You've done such a great job with this dessert, Carolyn! It looks really good… I bet it tastes really yummy! Love the pictures too 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Maureen says
I'd love to visit carrying a spoon. This looks delicious!
All That's Left Are The Crumbs says
It sounds like the perfect clafoutis and your photos are beautiful.
Lilly says
Not bad for a first timer! Love the little adult twist. Lovely pictures!
Foodness Gracious says
Great job and that last picture looks like it's 3D. I almost want to reach into my screen and take it!
Thanks for sharing..
Jill Colonna says
Carolyn, this is certainly not surprising – you are a genius at transforming normal wicked desserts into your low carb-gluten free versions. This is another winner!
claire says
looks gorgeous… want to mail me a sample!? haha! hope you have a great weekend~!
jo says
I've been pining for clafoutis, Carolyn, thank you!
Divya says
Carolyn – this looks yummy! I love how you described your thought process in coming up with this dish. That's what I love about recipe development – it's almost like a science experiment.
Adora's Box says
Love your clafoutis, Carolyn. I like raspberries and I like the almond topping.
S.V. says
This sounds and looks amazing……
foodblogandthedog says
Oh wow, this sounds amazing, I love Amaretto. I was thinking of making a gluten-free version with figs but wasn't sure it would work, so glad you've tried it and it does, excited!!
Christine's Pantry says
Looks wonderful! Thanks for sharing.