The cherry clafoutis is a creamy, fresh, and aromatic dessert of French origin. This dessert’s history begins in the Limousin, a historical region of central France. It’s a humble dessert of peasant origin, extremely simple to prepare, requiring very few ingredients. The true clafoutis consists of a base made with eggs, sugar, milk, and flour garnished with large, dark cherries (Bigarreau variety).
Over time, many variations have emerged, with different types of fruits like pears, peaches, apricots, or plums, all very delicious and fresh, perfect for summer. If you feel like trying some variations, I recommend the peach and blueberry clafoutis and my pear and chocolate version.
In the traditional cherry clafoutis or clafoutis aux cerises recipe, the pits are normally not removed , giving the dessert a more intense, slightly almond-like aroma and preventing the cherries from releasing juice during cooking. You can choose whether to leave them or remove them.
Try the other versions as well:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 16 oz cherries (dark, large, and firm)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- 5 oz heavy cream (can be replaced with milk)
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- Half pod vanilla bean
- Half teaspoon lemon zest (grated)
- 5 drops almond essence
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsps butter
- 2 tbsps all-purpose flour
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Hand Whisk
- 1 Pie Pan 8.5 inches
- 1 Scale
Procedure
Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the pulp.
Grate the zest of half a lemon.
Wash the cherries and dry them with paper towels.
As mentioned in the introduction, the original recipe calls for using cherries with the pits, which give a slightly almond-like flavor to the base of the cake, but you can remove them to avoid problems. I removed them using a pitter but a steel straw works fine as well.
In a bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar, grated lemon zest, and vanilla, add the flour, then incorporate the milk and cream. If lumps form, blend the batter with an immersion blender for 1 minute.
Butter the 8.5-inch pan (use a pie pan or a closed pan as the mixture is very liquid), sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar, and arrange the cherries in a single layer.
Carefully pour the batter into the pan.
Bake the dessert in a preheated static oven at 350°F (175°C) for 45/50 minutes. To check if it’s done, perform the toothpick test and ensure the surface is golden. Do not overbake, or it will become very dense.
The cherry clafoutis is ready, let it cool completely before serving. I serve it cold from the fridge, dusted with a little powdered sugar, but it’s also great at room temperature.
Advice
Storage
The clafoutis can be stored in the refrigerator for 4/5 days.
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