Cherry clafoutis recipe – classic French dessert
This delicious and super easy to make classic French dessert is perfect when it is the season for fresh cherries. Cherry season is one of my favorite seasons and making this cherry clafoutis is something I do very often! If you follow the recipe below you’ll have a delicious bowl of cherry clafoutis in no time.
Cherry clafoutis
Clafoutis – the name kind of gives it away – is originally from French cuisine. It is a kind of pudding that is best eaten lukewarm. The variant with cherries, as seen here in the clafoutis with cherries, is the classic. But you can also make it with other fresh fruit. If using cherries go for the sweet cherries and not sour cherries.
I’ve already made a version with banana and oreo, an apple-walnut clafoutis and a fancy version of the cherry clafoutis with white chocolate.
Where were the cherries?
Funnily enough, there were no fresh cherries to be found when I wanted to make a cherry clafoutis. Just my kind of luck. I had a few cherries left over from a photo shoot, but yes, I would have liked to use fresh ones. There were no cherries left in the freezer either (we are talking about mid-July, which theoretically is really cherry season) so I had to use cherries in a jar.
So you can make the cherry clafoutis just fine with either fresh, frozen or cherries from a jar. In case you use jar cherries, drain them well first and then pat them dry with some paper towels. One of the advantages of using cherries from a jar is that they are unpitted cherries. If you do find fresh cherries, it’s easiest using a cherry pitter. That definitely makes life a whole lot easier.
What baking dish to use for the clafoutis?
The very first time I baked a clafoutis I used a springform pan. In theory, of course, this is possible, but there are two problems with such a mold. First, the mold is deep and you actually want to have a relatively flat dish. That way the cherries don’t all sink to the bottom.
And second, a springform mold is not always leak-proof. Since the simple batter for the clafoutis is relatively liquid it can seep out of the form. The best form to use is a quiche form. And preferably one made of porcelain and not silicon.
I am a fan of using a silicone baking pan for things like muffins and cupcakes, but for this thin batter I find it very inconvenient. The custard-like base is too soft for using a flexible baking dish. So go for the porcelain version if you can.
Making the cherry clafoutis
Once the mold issue is sorted, making the clafoutis is super easy. Just make sure you grease the mold well so you can easily take it out. Use a spacious quiche mold or use two. The quiche mold you see here in the picture is about 22 cm.
With the quantities in this recipe, you can make two clafoutis with that. I filled this mold and then had enough for a second mold. You can use that one for another cherry clafoutis or put other fruit in the second one.
Making the batter is quick. You just use a large bowl and add the all purpose flour, milk, vanilla extract, eggs and sugar (or use almond extract). The consistency (and the taste for that matter) is very much like a thick pancake. Once the batter is whipped you take your form and pour it in. You can add the cherries first or add them later. That doesn’t really make a big difference.
For making the batter you could technically use a food processor but because it is so easy to make I never do that. Saves washing up the dishes and a mixing bowl is really all you need.
The recipe itself is very forgiving; you could add a bit of almond flour to increase the subtle almond flavor or just stick to the all purpose flour and sprinkle almond shavings on top of the clafoutis batter. You bake it until it is golden brown.
The clafoutis is best eaten lukewarm or at room temperature with powdered sugar, whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Cherry clafoutis
Equipment
- Quiche pan
Ingredients
- 600 g cherries
- 400 ml whole milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 g flour
- 60 g almond shavings
- 1 tsp powdered sugar
- Wash the cherries, remove the stems and pit them. This is easiest with a cherry pitter.
- Preheat the oven to 180˚ C. (350˚F)
- Beat the eggs with the sugar until the mixture discolors and turns light yellow/white and foams. Then add the flour, vanilla and salt. Now pour in the milk.
- Grease your quiche mold well. Pour the batter into the mold, add the pitted cherries and then sprinkle with almond shavings and then put it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven as soon as it is cooked and sprinkle with the remaining powdered sugar.
- You can eat the clafoutis warm or cold. Lukewarm is best!
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
