Clafoutis (Cherry Clafouti)

Today, we’re featuring a delicious classic French dessert — the clafoutis (cherry clafouti — in French the “s” is silent so we have also seen it spelled “clafouti” in the US).  The classic clafoutis is a baked cherry custard and is traditionally made in the Spring or Summer when cherries are abundant.  Clafoutis are orginally from the Limousin region located in the center west of France (the regional capital of the Limousin is Limoges, better known for its porcelain and enamel).  Nowadays, clafoutis are baked all over France during the cherry season for a quick weekend dessert or mid-week treat.   A clafoutis is very simple to prepare and as long as you have cherries, you can make it quickly with staples you already have in your kitchen – so simple and so delicious!    Check out our easy Art of the Home recipe and the immortal song “Le Temps Des Cerises” (The Season of the Cherries) — you can smell a clafoutis just listening to it!  And for tips on how to choose the best cherries, check our 3 Tips about Cherries kitchen tips.  Enjoy and bon appétit!

Clafoutis (Cherry Clafouti)
by Art of the Home

Ingredients (for 6-8 servings)

• 1 lb of cherries
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 and 1/4 cups of milk
• Salt
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Optional: 1 TBSP of amber rum or 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F.
2. Butter baking dish (or line baking dish with parchment paper).
3. Wash and dry cherries.  With a pairing knive, remove pits from cherries.  In the olden days, the whole cherries, not pitted cherries, would be used (it actually enhances the flavor) and it is the traditional way to bake a clafoutis.  However, it is easier to eat with pitted cherries so typically we do remove the cherry pits.  You can do it either way.
4. Prepare batter by mixing flour, 1 pinch of salt, and sugar.  Mix in the eggs, one at a time, until you get a smooth batter.  Mix in half of the milk (little by little to avoid lumps).  Scrap the bottom of your mixing bowl and mix in the the rest of the milk.  Optional: add rum or vanilla extract.  The clafoutis batter feels like a slightly thicker crêpe or pancake batter.
5. Place cherries at the bottom of buttered baking pan.
6. Pour the batter over the cherries and bake for 35 to 40 minutes in preheated oven.  To check, insert a knive or toothpick in the center of your clafoutis — it should come out clean.  The top should be brownish and for a nice golden brown top, if needed, put on the top broiler for 1-2 minutes to add some color.
7. Remove clafoutis and let is cool for a little bit then dust with confectioners’ sugar.
8. Serve warm or cold.

Le Temps des Cerise (The Season of the Cherries): Yves Montand sings the lovely Spring song “Le Temps Des Cerises” (The Season of the Cherries). This songs brings up so many sweet memories – cherry picking and delicious homemade cherry clafoutis, delicious!