Cherry Clafoutis
It’s so easy—simply dump the cherries in the pan, cover them with vanilla custard or flan batter, and bake! This classic French dessert, Cherry Clafoutis, is deliciously perfectly cooked with or without pits! Great recipe for cherry season.
The first-ever cherry clafoutis I tasted was in Paris, France, nearly 10 years ago! I fell in love with the custardy dessert right away, and I wasn’t even turned off by the fact that the cherries embedded in the dessert were not pitted at all!
I believe that’s how they traditionally bake this custardy cake—with pits and all! Well, it must have added something to the clafoutis, for it surely was delicious!
When my friend Bernadette asked me to guest post for her lovely blog, Rants from my Crazy Kitchen, I was very excited, although I didn’t quite know what to share yet. I thought I ought to share something that I really love and something extra special, too. Thankfully, this year, we went to France as part of our European holiday.
My husband and I took a few days off, left the kids with Mark’s parents in England, and went to France to celebrate our 10th Wedding anniversary.
Being a blogger, I couldn’t wait to try all the lovely cakes, pastries, and other French-baked goods while we were there.
Needless to say, in addition to the usual touristy sights we visited, we also went from one patisserie to another, adoring the yummy treats we saw on each glass case and shop window! For a foodie, it was pure heaven!
One of my favorite French desserts is a Clafoutis (sometimes also spelled without the s). It is a
baked French dessert which traditionally uses dark cherries arranged in a dish and then covered with a thick flan or custard-like batter.
Not only is it easy to make, but it is also flavorful and delicious when paired with freshly whipped cream or ice cream.
I have previously made a Strawberry and Almond Clafoutis which I totally loved because it was so yummy.
However, I didn’t even want to attempt to make the traditional Cherry Clafouti because I do not have the patience or the endurance to pit a pound of cherries!!! Hence, I thought I’ll stick to easier fruits that don’t need much work. 🙂
Lo and behold, during one of our daily rounds in the Parisian patisseries, guess what I found – a Cherry Clafoutis – fully baked and looking so delicious complete with stems and pit….!!!
I read somewhere that baking with the pits inside actually gives the Cherries and the dish itself a better flavor.
Now that I learned that I didn’t actually have to do major prep on the cherries (except wash them, of course!) I was suddenly so ready to make my first Cherry Clafoutis.
And so here is my Cherry Clafoutis, complete with stems and pits! At first, I thought eating would be difficult and weird – but no, not at all.
You can either pull out the cherries (that’s what the stems are for) when you eat it or just pop it in your mouth as usual. Each bite releases the yummy juices of the cherries, which have plumped up after baking, thereby making it so much easier to get the pits out.
So, really, there’s hardly any inconvenience at all. It’s much better than I expected. You can also use the fork to remove the pits, but for the whole experience, I suggest just eating it all and throwing the pit as usual. It sure made a very flavorful Clafoutis!
Clafoutis can be served warm or at room temperature. I suggest serving it while warm so the custard is still quite soft.
Either dust it with powdered sugar or, to experience full yumminess, serve it with fresh cream, whipped or not, or even better, vanilla ice cream!
Cherry Clafoutis
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk plus 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, (you can just use all milk, too)
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lb fresh cherries, rinsed (pitted or unpitted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar and salt) until smooth. Beat the three eggs in a separate bowl and then set aside. Add the vanilla to the milk and orange juice. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients at once and quickly whisk to avoid lumps. Beat the eggs into the batter until smooth. Make sure there are no lumps remaining.
- Place the cherries in the bottom of a 10-inch round glass or ceramic pie plate. You will also use this as serving plate.
- Pour the egg mixture over the cherries. If you think it may bubble over when baking, you may place the pie plate over a baking sheet.
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until the edges are set but the center is still slightly jiggly. Cool to room temperature or serve warm with a dollop of whipped cream or even some vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Last updated on June 19th, 2024 at 02:51 pm
Abby, this sounds easy….your picture is tempting me 🙂
This look SO delicious! I've never clafouti(s), but you can bet that I'll be making one soon!
Yours is GORGEOUS, Sweetie!
Thanks, Becca dear! I love Clafoutis because it's so easy to make and really tasty, too and made even more special with some ice cream! Thanks for stopping by.