Cherry Clafoutis, a classic French dessert that’s simple, pretty and packed with juicy cherries. It’s an easy and delicious treat to enjoy for summer.
What is Clafoutis?
Clafoutis is a classic dessert originally from Limousin region of France. It’s a cross between flan and pancake and usually made with cherries. I’ve been a fan of this dessert ever since I travelled to France when I was in college. This is my favorite dessert to make during summer when we have fresh, plump juicy dark or red cherries. Another great thing about clafoutis is it’s so easy to make, perfect for someone like me whose baking skills are not at an advance level!
Pitting Cherries
You can use frozen cherries for this recipe, but it’s cherry season now, so why not use fresh ones? Traditional Limousin clafoutis has cherries with pits, but like most people, I prefer pitted cherries. There are several ways to to do this if you don’t have a pitter, but in my experience, it’s just better (easier and less time-consuming) to use a cherry pitter to complete this task.
How to Make Cherry Clafoutis
- Preheat oven to 350° and butter the baking dish or pie plate. Lay pitted cherries on the bottom and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and milk or half and half. Traditional clafoutis does not contain lemon zest, but I’m a lemon lover and hint of lemon in a dessert makes it even more wonderful!
- Stir in flour and salt to the bowl and whisk together until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes or until clafoutis is set and golden brown.
- Let it cool to room temperature then dust with powdered sugar.
How to Serve
Serve a slice of this pretty dessert with fresh whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream. For this occasion, I brought out my Antico Cherry pieces by Ginori. This is one of my favorite Ginori pattern in my collection so far and since this is a discontinued pattern, am always searching on Etsy or eBay for additional pieces to add to my collection.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
- Strawberry Loaf Cake
- Peach and Blackberry Tarts
- Plum Puff Pastry Tart
- Moist and Fluffy Pluot Yogurt Cake
- Puff Pastry Pear Slab Pie
- Lemon & Rosewater Loaf Cake
Cherry Clafoutis
Equipment
- oven safe pie plate or shallow baking dish
Ingredients
- 2½ cups cherries pitted, fresh or frozen
- ½ tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 eggs
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk or half and half
- zest of one lemon
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ tsp salt
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350°. Butter the baking dish, place pitted cherries on the bottom and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest and milk or half and half.
- Stir in flour and salt to the bowl and whisk together until well combined.
- Pour the batter into the baking dish and bake for 35-40 minutes or or until clafoutis is set and golden brown.
- Let it cool to room temperature then dust with powdered sugar.