Cherry Clafoutis

Last Saturday we were having our first dinner party in about three months.  I beetled around the house in a frenzy trying to knock the house into shape to give the illusion we are respectable.  I set the table with all my new homewares from Bali, I bought a vase full of lilies, and there were candles; hundreds of candles (maybe not that many).

Cherry Clafoutis

Cherry Clafoutis

But the little guy invited some friends over to play and then another boy from up the street joined in and so instead of being able to head out and buy food, I had to supervise the antics.


I had my wallet in my bag and my shopping list in my pocket but I couldn’t take leave of my watch.  That’s quite stressful when you’re on the countdown for the arrival of six guests.

Lovely with ice cream

Lovely with ice cream

At 4pm the last of the boys was collected and then I raced to the shops, grabbing things off shelves and throwing them into my trolley.  I was in full flight when I had a near-miss with a trolley coming from the opposite direction and can you believe it was being pushed by a friend of mine.  And we hadn’t seen each other for about a year and I could tell she was ready for a catch-up.  Anxiety now soaring.

Recipe makes 6

Recipe makes 6

I said, ‘Oh Chrissy, I’m so sorry, I can’t chat.  In less than 90-minutes I have six people coming for dinner and I haven’t even started on the cooking’.

She said, ‘Oh, what are you doing about dessert, a clafoutis doesn’t take long’.

Or you could serve with cream

Or you could serve with cream

Chrissy must think I’m a magician.  It’s quite true a clafoutis doesn’t take long but I did have a few other courses to prepare and I thought it would be nice to have five minutes up my sleeve to freshen up.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about what a great dessert a clafoutis is and so this week I made some.  I thought I’d make cherry clafoutis because frozen cherries are easy to source.

Serve straight from the oven

Serve straight from the oven

No, they’re not actually easy to source and after a fruitless search (unintentional pun), I bought fresh cherries.  Cherries aren’t in season in Oz at the moment so are a bit pricey so if you can find frozen, that’s a better option and no one will know the difference – promise!

A lovely French dessert

A lovely French dessert

A clafoutis is best served straight from the oven which can be stressful in a dinner party situation but the batter can sit on the bench until you’re ready to fill the ramekins then at the right moment they can be put in the oven.  Twenty minutes later they’ll be out of the oven and ready to serve with a good dollop of quality ice cream.

This is a warming dessert that’s perfect to serve in winter and as well, it’s not too sweet or heavy so works well after a rich main course like I served on Saturday night, Beef Bourguignon.

Make with fresh or frozen cherries

Make with fresh or frozen cherries

5.0 from 8 reviews
Cherry Clafoutis
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: French
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
A light and not-too-sweet dessert full of beautiful cherries
Ingredients
  • 600g of fresh cherries, stalks and stones removed
  • ¾ cup castor sugar
  • ½ cup flour
  • pinch salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 2 cups lukewarm milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 60g unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
  1. Place the cherries on a small tray just large enough to hold them in a single layer, scatter with ¼ cup and shake to coat in sugar. Place in the freezer for 1 hour or until firm.
  2. Sift remaining sugar, flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolks, milk and vanilla until combined. Gradually whisk egg mixture into flour mixture until smooth and combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes, then whisk in warm melted butter.
  3. Preheat oven to 180°C (375F).
  4. Grease six 1-cup capacity ceramic or porcelain oven proof dishes then place in a large roasting pan. Divide frozen cherries between dishes and gently pour in batter. Pour boiling water into roasting pan to come one-third of the way up side of dishes then bake for 20 minutes or until just set. Serve.
Bon Appetit

Bon Appetit

Comments

  1. Delicious – Charlie – saw fresh cherries here the other day – would have to take out a mortgage to buy them:-)

  2. It seems to be a cliche but you always seem to run into unexpected delays when you’re on a time crunch. 🙂 Sounds like you managed to pull off another great dinner with your clafoutis nevertheless.

  3. I know what u mean about frozen cherries! Very hard to find a lot of the time just like frozen cranberries at Xmas These damn stores keep taking things away from the shelves. Your clafoutis looks great. X

  4. Yummy, one of my favourites!

  5. Man you tire me just reading your blog, do you ever have a day out where you do nothing lol – yeah I know silly question really 🙂

  6. Oh dear, that sounds rather panic inducing! I’m amazed you didn’t buy dessert with 6 guests coming in 90 minutes! 😀

  7. This was the dessert we made at the cooking class in Lyon. I made some a couple of weeks ago at the cottage, it’s so easy and I always have some sort of fruit (it was pear and milk chocolate, but I had cherries too!). Out of season cherries are ridiculously expensive here too but I’ve never seen them frozen. Makes me think I should freeze some myself!
    Bœuff Bourguignon is a fantastic dish for company. I usually buy an eye of round (on sale) and cut it into huge chunks, it takes a little longer to cook, but it looks like a restaurant serve. I collect the same blue Le Crueset pots! The colour has beef discontinued in North America sadly.

  8. You’re so patient. I would have lost the plot by lunchtime! I love clafouti and funnily enough was thinking of making an asparagus one for supper. It makes a great starter too. GG

  9. What a great dessert for a party. I messed up something the first time I ever made clafoutis and avoided trying again. I need to face my fears and give it another shot!

  10. Hi Charlie, hope your dinner went well, love a dessert with cherries, one of my all-time favorite.

  11. Freinds are priceless to me Charlie and am sure your dinner party went well! I love your cherry clafoutis in cups! I always think if things don’t go well at a dinner party, like Julia Child also ways, rename it!

  12. I’ve seen clafoutis, I’ve eaten clafoutis, but I’ve never made it. These little individual servings have me wanting to change that. I absolutely love cherries so this could be the first clafoutis I make! Thanks Charlie!!

  13. I have heard of clafoutis, but I have never had one. This really appeals to me, and I don’t think I need to wait for cooler weather! I would be very just fine with this nice, warm dessert! I hope the dinner party was as wonderful as I expect it would be. 🙂

  14. I reckon you should hop on a flight and come and join me in Kenya for a few days R&R. There is a fabulous spa here at the Kimpinski Villa Rosa – we could have treatments all day. Oh I wish.
    Fabulous pud Charlie.
    Have a beautiful day.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  15. But did everything get cooked in time!? I didn’t realize that clafoutis were so fast and easy…good thing I have some cherries in the fridge because now I must have some.

  16. I love how everyone runs around like crazy before a dinner party cleaning the house, but really I wouldn’t notice anything if I had one of these in front of me. Cherry clafoutis was make everything else fade into oblivion!

  17. I cannot imagine trying to prepare for a dinner party in 90 minutes. I would be stressed to the max. I hope all turned out well and you will show us.

  18. I love this individual serving clafoutis! I’ve made a big one many times, but this one is really lovely when you serve to guests, etc. Love the cobalt blue dishes too! It compliments cherry color well. Looks delicious! If I had the kitchen I’d definitely go shop some cherries (wonder if it’s still in season?) and make this ASAP. I will save this recipe for sure!

  19. My grandmother used to make this for me. My sister and brother didn’t like it – I suspect because it was French and all of us wanted to be more ‘American’. Where food was concerned, I didn’t mind being French at all. 🙂 This looks SO good and I love how you’ve served it.

  20. Love this dish! And I like how you’ve presented it. I agree frozen cherries are really good, but I can’t always find them either! But you can always find fresh, and even off season they’re good. This looks terrific — thanks.

  21. Charlie I would imagine you would be the dinner party queen, six guests and 90 minutes to sort it out. I’d preparing for a week beforehand if that was me…dinner parties and I aren’t frequent!

  22. I love saying the word ‘Clafoutis’ it just rolls off the tongue…I love eating it too, with thick, dollop cream. I have never taken the plunge and baked it though…I haven’t had a dinner party for ages either – might be time for both! x

  23. Have book marked this one thanks Charlie 🙂 Why is it you always bump into a long lost friend when you are in a hurry and should be flying incognito with sunglasses and a hat!!!! Jan x

  24. Hey Charlie!
    I made it with fresh cherries & loved every spoonful! My hubby Peter agreed with me!
    Divine! 🙂 x

  25. Oh! My! Goodness! what a day. you are an experienced multitasker to juggle the schedule interruptions AND pull it all together at the end. The clafoutis look marvelous in their colorful cups, treats for the eye and the taste buds.

Speak Your Mind

*

Rate this recipe: