Red and White Gooseberries Clafoutis | Recipe {Baking}

Last Sunday we went out with Baby MiH to our nearest Pick Your Own farm (you can see some pictures in the post) - literally 5 minutes down the road (for those in Hertfordshire, the St Albans Hawkswick Lodge Farm). Mr MiH was not convinced but I nagged - and Baby MiH loved it. He had enough after an hour, but by then I had picked more fruits that the three of us could eat. 

Earlier that week, I had filed a gooseberry recipe found on Moral Fibres - and it reminded me of the clafoutis my Grandma used to bake, so I had to try it. My Grandma used cherries usually, as to be honest I had not seen a lot of gooseberries where I came from in France (I did not know, but they are called groseilles a maquereau). At the farm we found white ones as well as red ones (that are much sweeter) - a great discovery. And as nearly everyone seemed to avoid the gooseberries bushes, it was pretty easy to pick them. 

Baby MiH getting close to some gooseberry action

So I had to bake the recipe as soon as we were back home, and Mr MiH keeps raving about it - honestly I am sure he has eaten 3/4 of it on his own, because the great thing with clafoutis is that it gets better and better as it cools down. 

He is adamant he was to hold his own basket

As I mentioned this is not my recipe, but I copied and pasted it so it is easy for you to refer to it. 

• 400g gooseberries (I mixed equally white and red ones)
• 30g butter (plus extra to grease your baking dish)
• 2 eggs
• 150ml milk
• 90g granulated sugar
• 90g flour
• 2 tablespoons of icing sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract

Our little beefeater

We were too slow for him

Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark four.

Cut the tops and stalks off of your gooseberries, and give them a good wash.

Butter a roughly 20cm pie dish or baking tin and then lightly sprinkle with a little bit of icing sugar.  Place your gooseberries in the dish.

Beat your eggs and sugar together until creamy.  Then add your flour (sifted), vanilla essence and milk and mix well until combined.

Melt your butter in a small pan and add to the mix, stirring well.

Pour the batter over the gooseberries, and place your pan in the oven for around 35 minutes, or until your clafoutis is puffed and golden brown and a skewer or knife comes out clean. 

An hour worth of pick your own

So you get a great activity and yummy food out of it! A total win-win as far as I am concerned. 

Baby MiH is very much into outdoors activities, any activity close to nature that you can recommend doing with a toddler? I sent the boys to the farm on Tuesday to feed the goats and the alpacas, and ride the tractor - another great hit...