Cherry clafoutis recipe

June 4, 9:32 AMLA Baking ExaminerHilary Cable

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Clafoutis is an easy rustic dessert with cherries./Hilary Cable

I discovered clafoutis when I had a batch of fresh cherries and needed something to put them in before I ate the whole bag and died of a cherry overdose.

The original recipe is from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1,” but I made some changes for the sake of simplicity and convenience. 

Clafoutis is an easy, rustic French dessert that’s a little bit cake, a little bit soufflé and a little bit custard. Clafoutis can be served cold, room temperature or warm with just a dusting of powdered sugar. 

You can use fresh pitted cherries, and I applaud you if you have the cherries and the time. Frankly, I cheated. I used Trader Joe’s bottled, pitted Morrell cherries and drained them for 30 minutes.

Julia’s original recipe instructed that a careful order of whipping and beating be followed, but throwing all the ingredients in a blender at once works just as well. I just couldn’t see the point of laboring needlessly over a simple, forgiving, country-style dessert. 

If you'd like a delicious, low-fat version of cherry clafoutis, try LA Cooking Examiner Erika Kerekes' version here. It's Weight Watchers friendly! 

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp. softened butter

1 ¼ cups half and half

2/3 cup all-purpose white flour

3 large eggs

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. almond extract 

¼ tsp. salt

4 cups dark, sweet cherries, pitted

1 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar for garnish

Method: 

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Grease a 9-inch deep dish pie plate or 9-inch by 9-inch square baking dish with about half of the butter and set aside. 

Place the cherries, freshly pitted, canned or bottled, into a large sieve over a bowl to drain the excess fluid. 

Put the half and half, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla, almond extract and salt in the blender. Blend on high, stopping once or twice to scrape any flour clinging to the sides back into the batter. 

Pour about ½ inch of batter into the prepared pan. 

Bake the thin layer of batter for 3 minutes until the batter just begins to set. Remove from the oven and place the hot pan on a heat-proof surface.

Arrange the drained cherries on the semi-cooked batter. Cover the cherries with the rest of the batter and dot with the remaining butter. 

Return the clafoutis to the oven for 35-40 minutes. The top will be brown and puffed, and you’ll see the cherries peeking through. 

Remove the pan to a wire rack and cool. 

Cut the clafoutis into wedges or squares and serve at room temperature with a dusting of powdered sugar. 

Serves 8.  

Cook’s Notes: 

• Julia Child notes that cherries are not pitted in clafoutis, but that just doesn’t seem like a good idea to be serving dental damage for dessert. I always use pitted cherries whether they’re fresh or from the Trader Joe’s bottle. 
• If you use bottled cherries, you’ll have more than a cup of light syrup leftover. I save this for pancakes and French toast. You could reduce it and make a delicious, deep red sauce for the clafoutis, but that would take away some of the admirable easy factor. 

If you liked the easy factor, you will also enjoy this simple-to-make cake that’s whipped up in the baking pan: Joan’s Crazy Chocolate Cake 

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