Rhubarb clafoutis with stem ginger, a classic flavour combination. Using the best of new season rhubarb and marrying it with the sweet fiery heat of stem ginger.
Rhubarb and ginger clafoutis is favourite dish of mine, but then again I love rhubarb. Indeed I can wax lyrical on the combination of rhubarb and ginger, flavour perfection for me!
Indeed I feel excitement when the new seasons rhubarb starts hitting the shelves.
Even better if you know someone who grows it! "I've got too much and can't get through it all ... and do I want any?" Yes please! And when I can't eat anymore I freeze it for use later.
You know you like rhubarb when you're happy to eat it simply stewed and served on top of thick Greek yogurt. That said, I do have a naturally sour and bitter palette.
This recipe clafoutis recipe is made with new season rhubarb and a lovely heat of ginger to accompany it. A classic combination of flavours.
What is Clafoutis?
Clafoutis is a traditional French dessert made using a sweet batter. A traditional clafoutis recipe is made with cherries. However, that's not to say you cannot use other fruits. So we've swapped the cherries for new season rhubarb instead.
How to make rhubarb clafoutis:
Preparing the fruit:
Making the batter:
Recipe ingredients & substitutions:
- Rhubarb has a lovely sharp, sour flavour which pairs beautifully with the sweet batter and fiery stem ginger. You can use other fruits and I've included some suggestions below.
- Stem Ginger is an ingredient I love to use and I have added 5 stems to this recipe. However please feel free to reduce the amount of stem ginger or even cut out altogether if you would prefer.
- Unsalted Butter can be replaced with salted butter.
- Eggs are added which help the batter to rise.
- Vanilla Extract adds a lovely flavour to the batter. Vanilla and Rhubarb are a great flavour pairing. You could also use vanilla essence, but it won't have the same intensity of flavour as extract.
- Whole Milk is best used in this batter, or semi-skimmed. Do not be tempted to use skimmed milk as it just won't give you the same rich batter.
- Whipping Cream is added to the batter as it is more stable and less likely to turn into butter than double cream which is easily over whisked. If you swap for double cream (heavy cream) just take care not to overwork the batter.
Can I make this clafoutis recipe using other fruit?
Feel free to experiment with fruits, here are some ideas:
- Berries: blueberries; raspberries; blackberries; cherries
- Stone fruits: soft peaches; nectarines; apricots
- Lightly poached and spiced plums
Use the best fruits that each season has to offer.
How to decorate this rhubarb clafoutis:
You may wish to cut some of the rhubarb length ways and one of the stem gingers into thin slices as we have done.
This allows you to place on top of the batter to decorate the clafoutis as we have shown in our photographs of the finished dish.
However, this is not strictly necessary, you can just mix the rhubarb and ginger into the batter..
Can I prepare rhubarb clafoutis ahead of time?
Personally I wouldn't, but that's not to say that you can't. It's simply just that clafoutis is batter based and, therefore, starts to deflate as soon as it comes out of the oven.
I like to serve it warm from the oven, allowing it to cool for 5 minutes.
There is certainly no harm in making it earlier and warming it up when you are ready to eat. However, you will have lost the light fluffiness of the dish.
How do I serve this dish?
This dish is best served straight from the oven, as it will start to deflate quite quickly.
I like to serve it with some vanilla ice cream. I then take some of the rhubarb poaching syrup I set aside earlier, and pour a little of it over the ice cream. Sweet perfection.
How to store and reheat clafoutis?
- Once cooked any leftover clafoutis can be stored in the fridge.
- Allow the clafoutis to cool completely, as it contains eggs and milk it is best stored in the fridge.
- When ready to heat up, pop it into the microwave and heat up in bursts of 15 seconds until warm.
- Alternatively, cover the dish with tinfoil and pop in the oven at 160CFan for 10 minutes until warmed through.
How to freeze rhubarb?
For those that grow their own rhubarb, there will always be times when you have too much ready in the garden at the same time, and you can’t get through it.
At times where I have a glut of rhubarb I like to freeze some so I can enjoy some later on in the year. Some will tell you to first blanch the rhubarb, but this is something I have never done.
To freeze the rhubarb simply wash the stems and cut into chunks. Place on a tea towel to dry then layout individually on a tray and pop into the freezer.
Pin the recipe:
Additional recipe suggestions:
If you like this simple sweet treat and fancy trying another straight forward recipe then try:
- Rhubarb Frangipane Tart
- Rhubarb Crumble
- Healthy Stewed Rhubarb
- Baked Nectarines with Hazelnuts & Yogurt
- Eve's Pudding
- Rhubarb & Custard Layered Dessert
- Rhubarb & Vanilla Sorbet
- Lemon Posset
- Panettone Bread & Butter Pudding
If you love rhubarb as much as we do, have a read of my 5 Best Rhubarb Recipes post.
Rhubarb Clafoutis with Stem Ginger
Ingredients
- 400 g rhubarb (washed and cut into bit sized chunks)
- 3 tablespoon caster sugar (plus extra for coating the dish)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 5 stem ginger (drained and finely chopped)
- 3 dsp stem ginger syrup
Batter
- 20 g unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing the dish)
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoon caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 50 g whole milk
- 75 g whipping cream
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Place the rhubarb, caster sugar, stem ginger, stem ginger syrup and water into a small saucepan and cook gently to soften the rhubarb. This will take approximately 5 minutes. Take care not to overcook the rhubarb you want to soften it, but it should still retain its shape. Once cooked, take off the heat and strain the fruit through a sieve. Set the fruit aside for later and save the poaching syrup.
Batter
- Gently heat the butter in a small saucepan until it has turned a pale brown colour, take care not to burn the butter - this happens really quickly! Leave the saucepan to the side.
- Place the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl and beat to a creamy consistency using an electric whisk. Add the flour and whisk again until smooth.
- Slowly add the milk, cream, butter and salt and continue to whisk till smooth.
- Prepare a 20cm oven proof dish by greasing it with butter and then coating the butter with a light dusting of caster sugar. Tip out any surplus sugar.
- Stir the rhubarb and ginger mixture into the batter and pour immediately into the oven proof dish.
- Place in a preheated oven at 160CFan and cook for 35-40 minutes, until you can insert a skewer and it comes out clean.
- Serve immediately with ice cream and pour over the poaching syrup..
Notes
• Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only •
Candace says
I love the combination of rhubarb and ginger and this looks so tasty. I love rhubarb that isn't sweetened too much so it has a lovely sharp tang to it
Lesley says
Thank you Candace. I couldn't agree more, I love this flavour combination and like you don't want my rhubarb sweetened too much either, I like it to be sour. Lesley x
Janice Pattie says
So nice to see a warm rhubarb dessert that isn't crumble! This looks so delicious and rhubarb and ginger is my favourite way to serve rhubarb.
Lesley says
Thank you Janice, mine too. I love rhubarb and ginger, it's flavour heaven in my books. Lesley x
Julie McPherson says
I love rhubarb and your clafoutis recipe sounds heavenly. Whenever I see a recipe containing rhubarb I think about my granddad growing it in his garden, happy memories. Commenting at BritMums Baking Round-up Editor.
Michelle says
Thanks Julie! Its a lovely dish. I admit to rhubarb being one of those things I always said I didn't like until this dessert and the I think the sweet heat of the ginger changed that for me. Lovely story and memories for you. Cheers, Michelle
jenny paulin says
what a gorgeous looking dessert and I love the sound of the rhubarb and ginger together. x
Lesley says
Thank you rhubarb and ginger is one of my favourite flavour combinations.
Choclette says
I love rhubarb too. I used to have a ready supply from our allotment, but our new plot doesn't seem to like rhubarb, or vice versa! I've still managed to make a few rhubarby things this year so far. Love your clafoutis idea. I bet it was scrumptious with all that ginger in it too. #CookBlogShare.
Lesley says
Thank you, rhubarb and ginger is one of my favourite combinations. Rhubarb is something I don't grow as sadly I don't have enough space, but I'm thinking on growing fruit and vegetables alongside my flowers (I've added artichoke to my flower bed) so might manage to squeeze some in! I love Rhubarb too much not to have my own supply!
Monika Dabrowski says
This is a lovely recipe, not too much sugar considering it's rhubarb, which is great! I employ a similar tough approach when it comes to people not liking something I've made - I make them eat it anyway! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare:)
Michelle says
Thanks Monica, its was a perfect sweetness as the stem ginger gives a stickiness to it as well that was very moreish! Really enjoying the #CookBlogShare community!
Cheers
Michelle 🙂
Rebecca Smith says
This looks awesome, I ADORE rhubarb, one problem, I'm dairy free, but boy do I like a challenge so will definitely be adapting this recipe for little old moi! #CookBlogShare
Michelle says
Thanks Rebecca. Would love to see it adapted so others with intolerances and allergies can enjoy as well. Thanks for commenting too!:) Its been a great group to be part of as we are new to it!
Cheers
Michelle 🙂
Helen says
that looks so good. I love rhubarb & luckily we have some growing in the garden, plus family members that donate some too!
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I love rhubarb too, and like your family my hubby dosn't get it either! This sounds so lovely especially with the addition of the stem ginger Michelle. #CookBlogShare
Angela x
Michelle says
Thanks Angela. I think my idea of not liking came from a young age and I then thought I still didn't like it, but I was so happily proven wrong! The stem ginger gives a lovely stickiness and heat to it.
Michelle 🙂
Louise Fairweather says
I love rhubarb - this sounds amazing
Michelle says
Thanks Louise, I must admit as one half of Lost in Food, for many years I said I didn't like rhubarb! I happily grew in in my garden and gave it all away, much to my husbands dismay! Then Lesley made this for me, while her back was turned I had eaten almost half of it - so I can now happily say the rhubarb I grow is for my own use!