Indian summer has been in full swing the past few days, but today was the first return to cooler temperatures and reminder of fall. The other reminder was the bin full of round, red pomegranates at the market. Their juicy, beaded centers don’t lend themselves well to baking — which was my mood today — but I couldn’t resist picking one up to experiment.

Upon returning home and scouring a few of my favorite cooking blogs, I decided to take on a recipe I’ve been meaning to try since mid summer: La Tartine Gourmande’s clafoutis. Bea, at LTG, loves to make different varieties of the French clafoutis — chocolate and raspberries, apricot and coconut, cherry and rhubarb. And her photographs are irresistable. If you haven’t been there yet, do pay her a visit.

Back to my first-ever attempt at a clafoutis. I get the feeling it’s more of a summertime dessert made with fresh, seasonal fruits. So to honor the end of summer and beginning of fall, I used peaches and cranberries with a touch of fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice in the batter. Though I don’t know exactly how it’s supposed to turn out, I was pleased.

Tip: For a quick, easy made-for-one dessert, try a clafoutis.

Recipe: Peach cranberry clafoutis with pomegranate
(Adapted from La Tartine Gourmande)
Serves one

1 egg yolk
3 Tbsp cane sugar
3/4 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbsp fresh pomegranate juice
1 heaping tsp cornstarch
1/8 cup flour, sifted
3 oz cranberries
1 half peach, sliced into 5 or 6 slices
Confectioner’s sugar for garnish

Melt butter in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add peaches and 1 Tbsp of the sugar, and cook on all sides for about 4 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter small a medium ramekin or small baking dish. In a large bowl, beat egg yolk with the rest of the sugar. Add cornstarch and flour, and beat lightly. Beat in coconut milk and pomegranate juice.

Arrange peaches and cranberries at the bottom of the baking dish, and pour batter over, leaving space at the top (it will rise a bit). Bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar and serve lukewarm.