CHERRY CLAFOUTIS by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
August 15, 2017
A clafoutis is a classic French, home-style, simple dessert. It’s a giant baked pancake, or “crepe”, made with fresh cherries of the season. Other than pitting the cherries, it is quickly made and can be baked during dinner and enjoyed for dessert. CHERRY CLAFOUTIS is a classic French dessert that I served in my restaurant, CAFFE UMBRA, in the early 2000’s. It was featured in a segment of “COOKING AROUND TOWN with RON DELLACHIESA” produced by WGBH. Every time the show aired we would get multiple phone calls inquiring about the dessert. It often stayed on the dessert menu long after the cherry season had passed, utilizing a different fruit.
- Prep: 45 mins
- Cook: 35 mins
- Yields: 8-10 Servings
Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 ½ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ½ teaspoon almond extract
6 large eggs
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 cup pitted cherries (from about 1 ½ pounds of fresh cherries)
Optional:
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 ½ tablespoon ‘sanding’ sugar
(sanding sugar is extra large, clear and sparkly sugar crystals which will not melt in the oven)
Directions
Wash and pit the cherries. It’s a bit messy, but fun. If you pit the cherries in a deep vessel, you’ll get less juice spraying! (There are cherry pitters on the market…or you can just squeeze the seeds out with your fingers.) Measure out 3 cups of cherries and set aside. (Drink any excess juices with sparkling water for a refreshing beverage.)
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Butter a 9 inch baking dish or sauté pan or cast iron pan or shallow pie plate. Set aside.
In a blender, mix together the milk, the eggs, and the extracts with the pinch of salt until homogeneous.
Add the flour and process briefly to combine all ingredients into a smooth batter.
Pour some batter into the bottom of the baking dish, just to cover. Bake in oven for 5 minutes or until barely set. This will provide a base for the cherries.
Remove pan from oven and completely cover the bottom of the pan with the pitted cherries. Pour the rest of the batter over the cherries. Sprinkle the top with a tbsp. of sanding sugar and scatter the toasted almonds on top as well.
Return pan to oven and bake for another 25-30 minutes.
Batter will have puffed up and have some brown edges…and a knife inserted into the middle of the clafoutis will come out clean.
Eat warm with whipped cream or melting ice cream.
