Oh the magic of Julia Child and her wonderful recipes. She was the first who made French cooking accessible to home cooks and we’re all the better for it! This delicious fruit flan can be made with blueberries, blackberries, apples, or any other fruit you happen to have on hand. It is easy to make, so you get this amazing dessert without a lot of fuss. In French, this flan is known as clafoutis.
Please note as you read through the variations below that the master recipe uses ½ cup flour unless using berries, which are naturally juicier and need the extra flour. With all other fruit, ½ cup flour is all that’s necessary.
There is so much to enjoy about this recipe -- the simplicity of the ingredients, the ease of making it, and the taste. The powdered sugar sprinkled on the top gives it an added sweet crust and makes such a beautiful presentation.
Julia Child’s Fruit Flan Recipe
Ingredients for Julia Child’s Fruit Flan:
- 2 cups blueberries or blackberries, washed and well-drained
- 1 ¼ cups milk
- 2/3 cup sugar (divided)
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- Powdered sugar (don’t skip this, it really adds to the recipe)
Directions for Julia Child’s Fruit Flan:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie plate.
Put the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and flour in a blender for one minute on high speed. (If you don’t have a blender, you can use an electric mixture or a whisk.)
Pour ¼ inch of batter into the pie plate and put over a medium-low burner until a film of batter has set in the bottom (1 – 2 minutes). Remove from heat and arrange the fruit over the batter, sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, and pour the remaining batter over the fruit. Bake for approximately 1 hour. When it has puffed and browned, it is done. Remove from the oven, liberally sprinkle with powdered sugar and cool on a rack (it will sink a little as it cools). Serve warm.
Variations using other fruit:
Apple Flan Recipe
- Make the master recipe above with the following changes:
- 3 cups apples, peeled and sliced
- 3 – 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup apple brandy, dark rum, or cognac
- 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Use only ½ cup flour
Sauté the apples in the butter until brown. Let stand in the skillet for ½ hour with the liqueur, cinnamon and sugar. Use the resulting liquid for part of the milk in the master recipe above. Omit sprinkling an additional 1/3 cup sugar over the fruit after arranging over the batter (as described above).
Cherry Flan Recipe
- Make the master recipe above with the following changes:
- 3 cups pitted black cherries, fresh, or frozen sweet cherries, thawed and drained
- Reduce flour to ½ cup
Cherry Flan with liqueur
- Follow the master recipe with the following changes:
- ¼ cup kirsch or cognac
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Use only ½ cup flour
Let the cherries stand for 1 hour in the liqueur and sugar. Omit the additional 1/3 cup sugar sprinkled over the fruit after arranging in the batter.
Pear Flan Recipe
- Follow the master recipe with the following changes
- 3 cups pears, peeled and sliced
- ¼ cup sweet white wine, kirsch or cognac
- 1/3 cup sugar
- Use only ½ cup flour
Let the pears stand in the wine or liqueur and sugar. Use the resulting liquid as part of the milk when making the master recipe. Omit the additional 1/3 cup sugar sprinkled over the fruit after arranging in the batter.
Other delicious Julia Child desserts:
Julia Child Apple Tart Dessert -- easy and delicious
Julia Child Sauteed Apple Dessert – perfect every time
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