A BAKING TIP

 Picking up from my success with a Cherry Clafoutis recently, I decided to make one with a partial package of blueberries that had been taking up space in the freezer for ages.

By the way, I've gone to the 9 inch square baking dish rather than the glass pie plate because it's deeper and makes the trip from the counter to the oven less hazardous.

But here's the background of today's tip.

I put the bag of blueberries out on some paper towels on the counter to thaw.

And then when I was assembling, I just picked up the bag and poured the contents into the dish.

I hadn't counted on the berries putting out that much liquid and the result was blueberry soup.

But never say mind.

I finished the pudding base with the other ingredients and poured it in on top of the blue morass and sent it into the oven.

Baking for the normally alotted time (45 minutes) seemed to have done the job; a knife inserted into the center came out dry and mostly clear of any crumbs.

But when I sliced a piece from the cooled product it seemed a bit moister than usual for this pastry.

My Chief Taster and Kitchen Expert said it tasted wonderful but she opined that it would have been better to have drained the berries and left the juice out.

So there's your tip for the day - dry those blueberries.

Better yet, use a firmer fruit and save the blueberries for a different recipe.