Cherry Clafoutis
If you’ve not made clafoutis before, you’ll be delighted to find out how easy it is! The batter is based on a crêpe batter, so unlike a traditional custard, it contains some flour, so the texture is somewhat dense, and the thicker batter ensures that any juices that escape from the cherries are well-contained. You could use a non-juicy fruit, such as apricots or bushberries, such as raspberries or blackberries, for this clafoutis. Other fruits, like nectarines, peaches, sour cherries, and plums may exude too much juice when baking. But it’s meant to be a rustic, casual dessert, so feel free to personalize it.
- 1 1/4 pounds (570g) sweet cherries
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (70g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 cup (100g) plus 3 tablespoons (45g) sugar
- 1 1/3 cup (330ml) whole or lowfat milk
- Softened butter, for preparing the baking dish
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190ºC). Smear a 2-quart (2l) shallow baking dish liberally with butter.
- Stem and pit the cherries. Lay them in a single layer in the baking dish.
- In a standard blender, or using an immersion blender and a bowl, mix the eggs, flour, vanilla and almond extracts, ½ cup sugar, and milk together until smooth.
- Pour the batter over the cherries and sprinkle the fruit and batter with the 3 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake the clafoutis until the custard is just set; a knife poked in the center should emerge relatively clean. It’ll take about 45 minutes.
Notes
Serving: The clafoutis can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold. It’s traditionally not served with any accompaniment.
Storage: The Clafoutis can be made up to one day in advance, and refrigerated overnight.