Flaugnarde is a lovely French name for a baked dessert which has fruit baked into a batter. The flaugnarde process creates a lightly crisped crust and a thick custard-like middle. Topped with ice cream, you’ll have a grand slam last course to any meal.

Lingonberries, known around here as low bush cranberries, are the last berry we forage for before we tuck in for winter. Collectors of these sour, flavorful gems are advised to wait until after the first frost for the best berries. We’ve learned that as long as the berries are fully red, the freezer also seems to do the same trick of enhancing their subtle sweetness.

Last year we found a killer spot for lingonberries across the lake. Looking back on the calendar where we kept noteworthy events, I noted that our several gallons of lingonberries in the freezer were collected in only two picking sessions. Now that’s a great spot!

Lingonberries can be used for cranberry recipes and vice versa. We’ve made lingonberry relish to go with roast turkey or moose, lingonberry breads to accompany poached egg breakfasts, and lingonberry juice for a hot spiced drink to warm up with on cold winter nights.

One of the tastiest recipes I’ve made with lingonberries is a version of Cranberry Chess Pie. It’s creamy filling packs a cranberry-orange, sweet-sour flavor punch inside a beautiful flaky pastry dough crust. This is the recipe I was channeling when I came up with a crustless version, which was supposed to be a little lighter on the calories. I can’t say I was successful with the calorie reduction. But I can say, it was incredibly delicious. I told Jack that I wished I could record his mmmming and ooohhing while he was eating this dessert. That would have been worth a thousand words.

Although this dessert is perfectly delicious on its own, I highly recommend serving it while it’s still warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The dish will come out of the oven with a beautifully browned dome top. While it’s cooling, the flaugnarde will fall, creating a hollow perfectly shaped for a scoop of ice cream.

Lingonberry Flaugnarde

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• Pinch salt
• 1 extra large egg or 2 small eggs
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups lingonberries

Directions

1. Grease two 8 oz ramekins. Set aside.
2. Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190C).
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar, butter, and salt. Mix together.
4. Mix in eggs.
5. Mix in flour.
6. Mix in yogurt and almond extract.
7. Mix well.
8. Stir in lingonberries.
9. Divide mixture into the prepared ramekins.
10. Bake until top is golden brown and filling is firm, about 50 minutes.
11. Cool ramekins on wire rack.
12. Top warm flaugnarde with scoops of vanilla bean ice cream. Devour immediately.