I had a LOT of red and blue berries leftover from our July 4th celebration.  I was faced with two options: make something delicious or freeze them for smoothies.  Of course, I decided to make something delicious.  It was a no-brainer.

This is such a classic.  I remember seeing Julia Child make one with cherries once on television.  It’s like a custard, but it’s easily sliced.  It reminds me of a crepe, but slightly different.  So hard to describe.  The only issue I have with the traditional version is the cup of heavy cream it contains.  I try to avoid it when I can.  Our youngest son is lactose intolerant.  I have varied the recipe I normally use to contain almond milk.  If you want, you can substitute it with heavy cream.  I find that the unsweetened vanilla almond milk gives it a wonderful, rich flavor.  Once you learn the method, the possibilities are endless.  You can use any combination of available berries or cherries you have.

What you will need:

• 2 cups of berries or pitted cherries (wash and dry them thoroughly)
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 cup almond milk  (unsweetened – plain or vanilla)
• 3/4 cups flour
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Make sure your berries are clean and dry.  Start with a pie plate.  Butter and flour it.

Scatter the berries around the dish.

Combine the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Set it aside.

Whisk the eggs, almond milk, and vanilla together in a small bowl (I use vanilla bean paste instead of extract, but either is fine).  Now you will have a wet mixture and a dry mixture.

Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture.  Combine thoroughly.  Set this batter aside and allow it to rest for at least 15 minutes.  I cooked dinner while it was resting (around 30 minutes) and popped it into the oven just as we sat down to eat, ensuring a piping hot dessert.

When the mixture has rested, pour it over the berries.  They will float to the surface.  Bake this at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.

You will see it puff slightly.  The edges will brown and pull away from the sides of the dish.  It will not jiggle in the center.  Remove it from the oven.  Serve it warm!  It’s delicious with vanilla ice cream or just a dusting of powdered sugar.  Refrigerate the leftovers.  A cold slice makes a pretty amazing breakfast snack with a cup of coffee the next morning.  Don’t let your gorgeous berries go to waste!