Clafouti. Don’t you love that word? It is pronounced klah – foo – tee. It is French, of course, a country-french dessert from the Limousin region made from fresh fruit, traditionally cherries, and a crepe-like batter. It is similar to a fruity pancake or a Dutch Baby though generally less rustic in appearance.
Clafouti is surprisingly easy to make and delicious served warm from the oven, especially when served with the luscious sauce that is suggested with this recipe I found in The Oregonian some time ago. I understand it is also traditional to leave the pits in the cherries but I have a nifty little cherry pitter my long time friend Alanna, from Kitchen Parade, gave me years ago so I am not going to try that. I just don’t want that kind of responsibility.
This recipe for Clafouti was great. If I were to change it I would add even less sugar to the cherries up front. The newspaper article also suggested that one or two more eggs could be added to give it more of a custard-like texture that some prefer. Experiment. It is a simple and forgiving recipe. Enjoy it as a sweet addition to brunch or as a summer dessert.
Cherry Clafouti
from The Oregonian
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (divided)
1/3 cup white sugar
3/4 pound cherries, pitted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons sour cream
2/3 cup whole milk
vanilla sugar (or granulated sugar) for sprinkling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease a 9-inch round cake pan or quiche plate with 1 Tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of sugar in the pan and turn to coat, shaking off any excess.
Place the cherries, 4 teaspoons of sugar, vanilla, almond extract and lemon zest in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, flour and salt. Add the eggs and sour cream, whisking until smooth. Add the milk in two parts, whisking until blended after each addition. Add any juice accumulated on the cherries.
Pour 1/2 cup of batter into the prepared pan and distribute the batter evenly over the bottom. bake for 10 minutes, or until batter sets and is a pale golden color. Remove from the oven.
In a single layer, arrange the cherries in the pan on top of the baked batter and pour the remaining batter over the top. Dot the top with the remaining 1 Tablespoon of butter and sprinkle with a Tablespoon or so of vanilla sugar. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Remove from the oven. Cool slightly then eat warm.
Just before serving dust lightly with powdered sugar and top with whipped cream, ice cream or Cherry Sauce (recipe below).
Cherry Sauce
from The Oregonian
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
squeeze of lemon juice
zest of half a lemon
2 cups cherries, pitted
Place ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the volume is reduced by half, approximately 15 minutes.
Place the sauce in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
Enjoy!!
I had my first cherry clafoutis and this dessert is amazing. Yours look great!
I love Cherries and you've made my day!! I happen to have some Rainier Cherries and this is perfect!! By the way, I made your Blueberry Salsa and it ROCKS!
Thank You!
Theresa – I used sweet cherries here.
Lisa
Do you use sweet or sour cherries for this recipe?
I was also wondering how you post the side bar of images, it looks nice and I was thinking about doing that with my blog too. Thanks!
This, along with many of your posts, sounds delicious! I've enjoyed your blog since discovering it a couple months ago. It's fun, interesting and has a great tone! Thanks for blogging!!
Very pretty! I love how our lives have intertwined over so many years, that cherry pitter is long forgotten by me even though I do have my own and do love it (and will use it today, to make fruit salad)!
I'm anxious to try clafouti again, with your ideas of making it less sweet and more-less custardy. As much as I've loved the idea of fruit in custard, the ones I've had before just didn't work for me. But a crustless pie? Yum!
i lurve clafouti, although i'll admit that i initially pronounced its name wrong. oops. that sauce is stellar!
I love the sauce, nice touch. And I always pit my cherries for clafutis. I like rustic but not that rustic.
I love clafoutis. They are baking that even I can do.
Such and elegant looking dessert. In VA we are finally seeing the good cherries from WA but it is only for a short time. I would pit the cherries too, wouldn't want my friends to break a tooth!
Good heavens, this looks yummy. I have everything but the cherries which I can get at the farmers market tomorrow. I've never tried to make a clafouti, and guess tomorrow is the day.
Love bing cherries so this will be perfect for the weekend. FoodDay has some great recipes.