04 June 2017

Clafoutis aux cerises

Yesterday morning on my walk with Callie the collie, I noticed a huge cherry tree that was heavy with big, red, sweet cherries (I tasted a few). I already knew the tree, which is on the edge of a vineyard parcel close to our house. I thought to myself that I ought to go back out there with a bag or basket later in the morning and pick some low-hanging fruit. Then it started raining.


Because it was raining, Walt decided not to go to the outdoor market in Saint-Aignan to get some local strawberries. Then the rain stopped, so off I went on foot with a plastic bag to get cherries. I picked a pound of them. There are still thousands of them on the tree, but most are so high up you'd need a ladder to get to them. Nobody else is picking any of the cherries, as far as I can tell.


So when nature gives you cherries, what do you do? You make a clafoutis [klah-foo-TEE]. It's one of the simplest and most delicious ways to eat them. You don't need to make or buy a crust. All you need is some eggs, flour, sugar, butter, and milk, to make a filling. You don't even need to pit the cherries, if you are just serving this to family or good friends (be sure to tell them that the cherries are unpitted!). Some people say leaving the pits in the cherries actually improves the taste of the clafoutis.


Above is the recipe in French. It comes from the book Cuisine pour toute l'année by Monique Maine, which was first published in the late 1960s and is a French kitchen standard. It's a paperback, and is also available as a Kindle e-book available on amazon.fr. I've translated and adapted the recipe below.

Clafoutis aux cerises

1 lb. cherries [500 g]
¾ cup flour [80 g]
⅔ cup sugar [125 g]
4 eggs
1 cup milk [250 ml]
¼ cup butter, melted [60 g]

Wash, de-stem, and (optionally) pit the cherries.

In a big bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, and eggs. Pour in the milk a little at a time, stirring well, and then add the melted butter, to make a fairly liquid batter (consistency of heavy cream).

Butter a baking dish or pie plate and spread the cherries over the bottom. Pour in the batter. Bake the clafoutis for about 40 minutes at 350ºF (180ºC).

Optionally, you can sprinkle a little sugar over the top of the clafoutis to make a crunchy topping. As you can see by comparing the photos above, the clafoutis will collapse slightly as it cools. Serve warm or cold.

14 comments:

  1. I just love clafoutis and so did Frank. When in Southern California and when cherries were no longer in season, I tried clafoutis with a variety of fruits, the very best, you may be surprised, was banana clafoutis, because the other fruits were almost tasteless!

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    1. I've made clafoutis with little plums, and I think it would be good made with prunes too. I still haven't tried the banana version.

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    2. I never tried prune clafoutis. I guess the prunes must be soaked in a strong rummy tea for added flavor. No?

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    3. I'm making cherry clafoutis today! For the very first time we have been here at the right time to pick the cherries on our tree before the birds get them.
      I've made apricot clafoutis before and it was delicious. Also a banana version following a previous comment by chm I believe. I thought it was lovely but cooked bananas don't have the universal appeal of either cherries or apricots I think.
      A version made with rum soaked prunes was good. The only fruit that disappointed in a clafoutis was pear, maybe too subtle a flavour for a batter pudding.

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    4. Seedless grapes are also good in a clafoutis.

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  2. I just made individual clafoutis. I am in love. I wish I had a tree close by. You are so lucky. I have also made a savory clafoutis which was pretty good also - if I do say so myself. :)

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    1. I have a memory of making a savory chicken clafoutis, and I thought I saw it on my blog the other day. Now I can't find it.

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  3. Would you use one pound of strawberries for this recipe?

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    1. I think that quantity would be right. I wonder about the texture of the strawberries after they've cooked, but if banana clafoutis is good... why not?

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    2. Perhaps a garnish with fresh strawberries and cream would help it some. A friend recently made a good cake with an interior layer of meringue and an icing of strawberries and cream. It was delicious.

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  4. Every year, I keep saying that I need to make a Clafoutis. I've never tasted Clafoutis!
    I would imagine that it would be delicious with blueberries, no?

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  5. Mmm that looks good - bet it tastes even better ! Years since I've had clafoutis, but I should think any fruit that's firm and keeps it's shape when cooked, would be worth a try. Not sure about strawberries though, as they go soft quickly.

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  6. Hi Ken,
    I am delighted that you posted a tried and tested clafoutis recipe as I have tried it once or twice and wondered how to go about making it. Thank you.
    I am using my laptop to write this comment as that will be my holiday computer once we get to Saint-Aignan. I am not confident of the technology and know very little about blogs so am posted under "anonymous" rather than risking messing my google account up by trying to make them both work together.
    Glad to hear your internet is ok again.
    Cheers, Sue

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