Sundays are my days off.
My one day during the week where I don’t have to go to work or go to class or go to work and then go to class.
I sometimes have Wednesdays off too, but on Wednesdays, I do stuff. Like make appointments. And see friends. And run errands. And do annoying assignments.
But Sundays? Sundays are all mine.
Sundays mean I get to sleep in after 5am. They mean a few slow cups of coffee in the morning. And that I can take my time to read all the Sunday papers and magazines curled up on the couch.
Sunday means I don’t have to get out of my pyjamas until the afternoon. It means I don’t have to put on any make up. And that I can take my dog for a long walk.
Sundays mean I can spend a few hours in the kitchen, baking something or the other. They mean long family dinners and a few glasses of red wine.
Last Sunday, I made cherry clafoutis tart to take to my family dinner. I had been meaning to make clafoutis for the blog for a while, and I recently fell so in love with the pastry in these lemon bars that I baked the clafoutis in a tart shell.
It was delicious. The crisp, brown butter pastry went beautifully with the sweet custard and the tart cherries. It is relatively easy to make too, so it gave me more time for red wine and newspapers.
How do you spend your Sundays?
- FOR THE BROWN BUTTER SHORTBREAD CRUST
- ½ cup icing sugar (55g, 2 oz)
- 1½ cups plain flour (215g, 7½ oz)
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened (170g, 6 oz)
- pinch of salt
- FOR THE CLAFOUTIS FILLING
- 2 cups milk (500ml, 16 oz)
- ¾ cup caster sugar (150g, 5¼ oz)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 3 eggs
- ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp plain flour (50g, 1⅔ oz)
- 2 cups cherries, pitted (340g, 12 oz)
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and butter a 10 inch tart tin.
- To make the crust, sift the icing sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the flour and salt. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on a low speed to combine.
- Add the butter and mix on a low speed just until a dough forms.
- Put the dough in the tin and press it evenly into the base up the sides.
- Line the crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for about 25 – 35 minutes, until it evenly colours and is a deep golden brown. I had to uncover mine for the last 5 minutes.
- When the crust is almost ready, prepare the filling.
- In a small saucepan, add the milk, sugar, vanilla and salt. Place it over a medium heat and bring it so it is just under boiling point, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
- While the milk is heating, crack one egg into a large heatproof bowl. Add the flour and whisk until there are no lumps. Add the remaining two eggs and whisk to combine.
- When the milk is scalded (bubbles appear around the edges), pour it very slowly into the egg mixture while whisking it constantly.
- Take the tart shell out of the oven. Half fill it with custard. Evenly distribute the cherries around the tart and place it back into the oven. Pour the rest of the custard into the tart while it is on the oven rack.
- Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until just set in the center and slightly puffed and browned around the outside.
- Allow to cool before cutting. Serves 10.
Inspired by recipes from Tartine by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson.