A Taste of ... Brittany, France with Jordan Rondel

The markets in Brittany are even more abundant with fresh produce than the ones in Paris. Photo / Getty Images

My dad is French and his side of the family all still live in France. I'm super close with my grandparents (my Granny and Pappy) and visit them each European summer.

They lived in Paris forever and in their warm little kitchen is where my earliest and fondest food memories were formed. Recently they moved to Brittany for a more peaceful lifestyle. In their Brittany home, the kitchen is bigger than in Paris and the markets they shop at every second day are even more abundant with mind-blowing produce.

Jordan Rondel, The Caker, says her fondest food memories were formed in her grandparents' little kitchen in Paris. Photo / Supplied

In anticipation of my arrival, my grandparents always have something delicious in the oven or on the stove. It might be a peach or nectarine tart, served warm with fromage blanc. It could be a pot of apricot jam bubbling away to slather my croissant with, or strawberry and rhubarb compote to eat by the ladle. But my favourite of all is when there's a cherry clafoutis in the oven. This incredibly simple dessert is, for me, the pinnacle of comfort food. It's light and only gently sweet, and has the most beautiful smooth texture that is offset by tart, juicy cherries.

Clafoutis can be made with any fruit, and because cherries aren't in season in New Zealand, I've created a recipe which calls for prunes. I hope you enjoy.

Catch The Caker, Jordan Rondel, at The Food Show, July 25 - 28 at the ASB Showgrounds.

The Caker's Prune Clafoutis

Jordan Rondel describes clafoutis as an incredibly simple dessert that is the pinnacle of comfort food. Photo / Getty Images

Serves 6

30g butter, melted
4 organic eggs
Zest of ½ orange
80g soft brown sugar
125ml whole milk
125ml cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp ground almonds
100g prunes
30g sliced almonds

Preheat the oven to 180C fan bake.

Pour the melted butter into a shallow ovenproof dish, approx 20cm wide, making sure it coats the sides too.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk the eggs, orange zest and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes on high.

Fold the ground almonds into the egg mixture.

Finally, pour in the milk, cream and vanilla, whisking lightly.

Pour the batter into the greased dish and drop in the prunes. Scatter with the sliced almonds.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown and set but still light and soft inside.

Serve warm with cream.

To store, cover well with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for up to a week.