I have some VIP’s to dinner tonight (you know who you are, you read the blog!) so I was agonising over dessert when I got the following letter from my friend Isabel.

“Paul came home from Dubai yesterday and I asked him what he would
like for his birthday treat tonight and he said “Martin’s
Clafoutis”. So with the first of the season’s apricots, I made the
peach version, but using apricots – couldn’t do the apricot and
almond recipe because I couldn’t find the ground almonds, I was sure
we had them…we had, but they were in Berlin…..a half a pound of
butter!!!ten ounces of sugar!!! even more of flour!!!! Martin, what
are you doing to our cholesterol? Ah, never mind, birthdays come
around only once a year though years do appear to turn around much
faster these days.

But it was yummy and Paul had a second slice and said it was the best
birthday cake ever and we all lived happily ever after.”

Perfect, but because I can never pass a recipe without tweaking it (think of dogs and car wheels), and as we we have some terrific Rhubarb, just up, in the garden, and some ground hazelnuts and some praline powder (from France) in the cupboard, I ended up making the following:

Rhubarb and Hazelnut Clafoutis

400g (14oz.) Caster Sugar
140g (5oz.) Flour
140g (5oz.) Ground Hazelnuts (or Ground Almonds)
1 tsp. Baking Powder
4 Eggs
225g (8oz.) Melted Unsalted Butter
1 tbs. Cointreau or Grand Marinier (optional)
1 Bunch Rhuibarb (about 500g (1 lb.)
Some chopped Hazelnuts or Almonds (or, should you have it handy some chopped praline)

Chop the Rhubarb and fry quickly in 30g (1 oz.) of the butter just for about two minutes just to start it cooking.

Put the sugar, flour, ground nuts, and baking powder into a food processor and whizz for a minute to blend well.
Now add the eggs, the remaining unsalted butter and the booze.
Whizz again to blend thoroughly.
Pour this mixture into a 12 inch tart tin or quiche tin ( not one with a removable base)
Push the pieces of rhubarb into the batter.
Scatter over the chopped nuts.

Bake this at 150C. 300F.Gas 4 for 35 to 40 mts.
This should be served from the tin either hot from the oven or at room temperature with some whipped cream.