Pairing Notes:
Paired with an Amber Brandy Fizz
General Manager and Sommelier, Hao-Yang Wang suggests pairing the Plum Clafoutis with the light and creamy cocktail, Amber Brandy Fizz by Bar Manager Satoshi Yonemori and notes the benefit of adjusting sweetness to find harmony with a dessert.
Amber Brandy Fizz Cocktail
Method: Shake
INGREDIENTS
30ml Brandy (French or Spanish)
20ml Lemon
10ml Campari
20ml Plum Puree
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
½ Egg White
METHOD
- Add the ingredients to a shaker and shake hard! The idea is to shake long and hard enough so the egg white is beaten to almost a meringue like consistency and emulsifies with the other ingredients.
- Enjoy this light, refreshing, yet creamy textured concoction.
Hao-Yang Wang, General Manager & Sommelier, Grapes & SodaTwitter: @grapesandsoda
Facebook: Grapes & Soda
Recipe:
Plum Clafoutis with Crème Fraîche
Chef Ron Shaw of Grapes& Soda
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
Clafoutis
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
355 ml whole milk
2/3 Cup sugar
2 Tbsp Brandy
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
6 eggs
Kosher salt, to taste
1 Cup flour
2 Cups black plums, pitted, fresh or frozen
Icing sugar, for dusting
Crème Fraîche
100 ml Buttermilk
300 ml Whipping Cream
METHOD
Crème Fraîche
- Mix cream and buttermilk together and leave in a warm place covered with a cheesecloth / muslin for 3 days, until it has set firmly.
- Once set, you may strain it for a thicker consistency by hanging it in the cheesecloth/muslin for up to 4 hours, or serve as is.
- Keep refrigerated, it will hold in the fridge for over a week.
Clafoutis
- Heat oven to 420’F.
- Grease a 10” cast-iron skillet or baking dish with butter and set aside.
- Combine milk, sugar, brandy, vanilla, eggs and salt in a blender.
- Blend for a few seconds to mix ingredients then add flour and blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Pour batter into buttered skillet then distribute cherries evenly over top.
- Bake until a skewer inserted into batter comes out clean and a golden brown crust has formed on top and bottom of clafoutis, about 30 minutes.
- Dust with icing sugar and some scoops of crème fraîche before serving.
Variations
You may substitute cherries and kirsch for the plums and brandy. Pineapple or banana and rum would work as well.
RON SHAW
Executive Chef
Ron Shaw’s pedigree as the former Executive Chef of Vancouver restaurant Bishop’s, where he studied under celebrated chef and arguably the local godfather of fresh, farm-to-table cuisine John Bishop, makes him the perfect fit for Grapes & Soda.
Espousing the same culinary philosophy as Bishop and owner David Gunawan, Shaw flips the coin on standard operating procedure by serving up sustainably sourced, seasonally inspired small plates that are paired with an array of natural, organic and biodynamic wines rather than the wine informing the food.
Beyond his background in acclaimed restaurants such as maze Grill, Zuma and Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester in London, Shaw also brings formal training as a sommelier to the back of house, giving him a unique perspective on how best to design dishes that complement Grapes & Soda’s industry leading natural wine program.
Twitter: @grapesandsoda
Facebook: Grapes & Soda
