cherry clafoutis

Sweet cherries and custardy bliss in every bite!”

Tips

switch up the fruit

while clafoutis is usually made with cherries, you can use almost any fruit. Peaches, plums, apricots, any stone fruit is perfect for this dish. Firmer fleshed fruits like apples and pears also work for this dish. You can use berries, however be warned the juices will leak into the clafoutis. This isn’t a bad thing, but you may want to adjust the baking time to account for the additional liquid. Regardless of what fruit you decided, keep only a single layer arranged in the skillet, and follow the recipe as stated.

get that puff!

In the recipe below, I have given a safer alternative to making a clafoutis; working with a cold pan rather than a hot one. Similar to a popover, pouring the batter into a screaming hot pan gives you a nice golden brown puffy edge.

To achieve this, place skillet or baking dish with butter into a preheating oven. While the oven is preheating (and dish heating), make batter. If using hot pan, pour batter first before sprinkling in cherries.

Cherry clafoutis

Preparation Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Serving size: 4 – 6

Gather

Cherry clafoutis

• 3 cups cherries, pitted
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter 
• 3 eggs
• ¹⁄₂ cup flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla 
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract
• ²⁄₃ cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup whole milk 
• ½ cup  heavy cream 
• ¹⁄₈ teaspoon salt 
• Powdered sugar, for garnish (optional)
• Orange zest, for garnish (optional)

flambe cherries

warning: flambe involves lighting alcohol on fire. If you are hesitate about, pour cognac directly into pan, and cook down.

• 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to taste
• 4 ounces fresh sweet cherries, pitted (about 1 cups)
• 2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy

Follow

cherry clafoutis

1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Prep an 8 cup oven save dish (like a ceramic baking dish, or 10″ cast iron skillet.). If using a cast iron skillet, heat over medium heat, melt butter and coat the entire cast iron. If using a baking dish, like a pie pan or casserole dish. Place butters in baking dish, and place into oven for a few minutes to let butter melt. Remove baking dish from oven and swirl butter around in dish to coat pan.
2. Stem and pit the cherries. Lay them in a single layer in the baking dish.
3. In a standard blender, or using an immersion blender and a bowl, mix the eggs, flour, vanilla, and almond extracts, ½ cup sugar, heavy cream and milk together until smooth.
4. Pour the batter over the cherries and sprinkle, with the 3 tablespoons of sugar.
5. Bake until the custard is just set; a knife poked in the center should emerge relatively clean. It should take around 45 minutes.
6. Remove from oven; serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream. If you’re feeling a little extra, flambe some cherries in a little rum, and a few pinches of orange zest. Serve on top of clafoutis. Trust me, when I say flambe cherries over ice cream with this clafoutis will send your taste buds straight into heaven.

flambe cherries

1. Finely grate about ¼ teaspoon zest from the orange, then halve the fruit and squeeze out 2 tablespoons juice.
2. In a medium skillet over medium heat, combine butter, sugar, and orange juice. Gently stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add cherries. Cook cherries until they become tender and release their juices, 2 to 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the pan on the stove.
4. Pour Cognac or brandy into a big metal ladle capable of holding 2 tablespoons of liquid, or a small saucepan. With a stick lighter or long match, carefully warm the brandy by gliding the flame directly over the liquid (stand back as you do this). When the brandy is warm enough, it will ignite with blue flames. Immediately pour the flaming brandy over the cherries and allow flames to burn off, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. If you are hesitant about warming cognac up via flame, pour cognac directly into pan with cherries and orange zest.