cherry clafoutis
Clafoutis (sounds like kla-foo-tee) is a flan-like French dessert that I like to make during the height of cherry picking season. Traditionally made with black cherries, almonds and lemon…I make mine with pretty pink and yellow Rainier cherries, also known as “Queen Ann” cherries. I like the flavor more than the traditional black, but do a taste test and see what you prefer. I use a little more sugar in my recipe and have substituted buttermilk for regular milk.
I talked to my beautiful friend Jana while pitting the cherries, which made the task much more pleasant. Do you have trick for pitting cherries that you’d like to share? Please tell me, I would really appreciate any tips.
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup flour
1 pound fresh cherries, pitted
1/2 cup almonds
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
zest of one lemon
powdered sugar and fresh whipped cream for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 7 x 5 glass baking dish. Add pitted cherries to the dish. In the bowl of a food processor, add almonds, sugar, flour and salt. Pulse until the almonds are coarse chopped. In a large bowl mix the eggs, buttermilk, almond extract and lemon zest. Add the melted butter and flour mixture to the wet ingredients in the bowl. Whisk all until evenly incorporated and smooth. Pour over cherries. Bake for 35-50 minutes, or until the clafoutis is set and golden. Serve luke warm or cold with powdered sugar sprinkled over the top and a dollop of fresh whipped cream.
Enjoy!
~Melissa
Yes, we used to pit cherries by taking a new pencil with an eraser and taking out the eraser and just sliding cherries down it — about 10-15 and then slide them off. Takes out the pits perfectly.
Thanks for the tip Nancy! that is going to be so helpful next time I make this 🙂
this recipe looks awesome. However, at this time of the year fresh cherries are scarce/costly. would it be appropriate to use cherry pie filling and/or canned cherries?? want to make this for x-mas eve as demi-dessert.
Love french and/or canadian cooking. have ties to Quebec and am continually learning how to properly/adequately make meat pies and canadian cabbage soup. would love to get some expert learning on this cuisine.
Thanks so much for visiting, Joy! enjoy the recipe 🙂
happy holidays to you, yours and all the connections to cooking/baking that make our tasks so very much easier and better for our families. May we always have those “apron strings” to use.
Happy Holidays to you! xoxo
My Grandmother gave me a garlic press with a cherry pitter in the handle. We made a 7 clove chili which ran off her neighbor on her nightly visit the evening I was introduced to the garlic press, so this humble little tool is a prized possession.
oh wow! wish I had one, Dani! 🙂 and that chili sounds awesome! recipe please! xo