For quite some time I did not understand the clafouti. Cherries (or other fruit) baked in a batter that results in a cross between a baked pancake and a tart and a custard? What’s with that? Something clicked when I finally made one myself – the combination of ease and deliciousness snapped together in my head and the clafouti became my go-to dessert during cherry season.
Cherry clafouti
Use any fruit you like, but cherries are traditional.
1 pound cherries
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Powdered sugar for garnish (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 and butter a baking dish in the 9 x 13 family – although a bit smaller than that is great. While the oven heats up, settle in and pit the cherries. I like to pit them over the baking dish so all their juices end up in the dessert.
Whisk or whirl in a blender the eggs and milk. Add flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla and whisk or blend until smooth. Pour the batter over the cherries.
Bake until batter is set throughout and the edges and top are browning, about an hour.
Let sit a few minutes. Cut into pieces and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if you like. The powdered sugar really dresses up this humble dish quite a bit.
Suzy | 04-Jun-10 at 9:59 am | Permalink
I’ve never heard of a clafouti…but this looks delicious!
Molly Watson | 04-Jun-10 at 10:25 am | Permalink
Eet eeze verry French. They make it in Limoges, where there are many delicious cherries. It seriously took me years to understand the charms of the clafouti. Very glad I stuck with it
juliaf | 04-Jun-10 at 11:56 am | Permalink
that looks scrumptious! do you think it would work with strawberries and/or peaches? (louisiana growing seasons appear to be very different from california!)
Molly Watson | 04-Jun-10 at 1:10 pm | Permalink
Yes! It will work – although roasting the strawberries or peach slices (as in the recipe for strawberry muffins) will help keep the clafouti from being too “wet,” since both strawberries and peaches are much juicier than cherries.
We have strawberries and peaches here now, too – no cherries there?
juliaf | 04-Jun-10 at 1:49 pm | Permalink
thanks for the tip! (and that recipe looks great too – so many cooking desires, so little time.)
sadly, no cherries here ever (but very little actual winter either – swings, roundabouts, etc.)
Molly Watson | 04-Jun-10 at 1:56 pm | Permalink
Oh that’s right- no apples either, right? Seems a reasonable price to pay for no winter
Denise | Chez Danisse | 04-Jun-10 at 6:10 pm | Permalink
I’ve actually admired clafoutis for a while. Why haven’t I made one? This is the final temptation. I’m making this, just as you did, with cherries.
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jonahliza | 15-Jun-10 at 10:56 pm | Permalink
i don’t eat cherries as much, but i’m definitely gonna start with this recipe. it looks delicious!
Molly Watson | 16-Jun-10 at 8:52 am | Permalink
I didn’t used to eat that many cherries either, but now I can’t get enough. The clafouti helps in that regard.
Jan Hall | 16-Jun-10 at 2:14 pm | Permalink
Clafouti in France is made with unpitted cherries. Just as a lot of flavor in meat resides near the bone, the French claim (and I agree) that a lot of flavor clings to the pits and adds to the dish. When eaten in France, the “ping” of cherry stones being deposited discreetly at the side of the dish can be heard throughout the land. One inserts cherry, rolls it around and the pit is easily extracted with the tongue and teeth. And of course the dear French always, always serve every dessert with a big spoon. I also macerate the cherries in some kind of delicious liquid, Cointreau, Kirsch, or one of the great eaus-de-vie.
alice | 14-Jul-10 at 9:09 pm | Permalink
ah, bliss! Ian calls this ‘fluffy’, having a bit of trouble with the pronunciation. Your recipe is drastically less decadent than the one I’ve been using — I’ll have to try this one before someone has a coronary around here.
Molly Watson | 15-Jul-10 at 7:24 am | Permalink
I like the “fluffy” nickname, even if it is woefully inaccurate. Your version must use cream? And lots of butter? Sounds fabulous.
alice | 15-Jul-10 at 3:14 pm | Permalink
“Double” cream, and unspeakable quantities of butter. It is, in fact, a bit fluffy, too — rather like a sweet souffle with cherries. Jeez, I think I need to go make one now.
Molly Watson | 15-Jul-10 at 7:33 pm | Permalink
Oh my. That does sound delicious. I’m afraid my poor, traditional version will disappoint terribly by comparison!
iyah | 26-Aug-10 at 3:45 pm | Permalink
hello =] i just wanna say that this is the best recipe ever. it’s so quick and easy and yummy! so yea thank you! i love your blog =]
Molly Watson | 26-Aug-10 at 4:09 pm | Permalink
Thanks! Glad you like it.
Natasha | 14-Dec-10 at 6:50 am | Permalink
Just surfing backwards through your site looking for scrumptious things to make our guests this Holiday season, when – to my surprise – up comes the most delectable clafouti I have ever seen photographed! I have been disappointed by the recipes I’ve tried 3 summers running, so I’ve bookmarked this – and sent myself a reminder email – for trial in July 2011.
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