No French summer would be complete without Clafoutis aux Cerises, a dessert made with fresh cherries and a crêpe-like batter. The questions? How do French women pick cherries? And do you pit the cherries? Find out the answers in the video below and read on for the recipe!
Please note: Our tiny castle was under construction during the making of this video. The good news: we have a new dining room in which we can enjoy clafoutis come summer. The bad news: cherries are not in season and I can't remake this video, so I'm just going to roll with it.
Jean-Luc’s Clafoutis aux Cerises (Cherry Clafoutis—cla-fou-tee)
Prep time: 15 minutes (plus 20 minutes of rest time)
Cook time: 30 to 35 minutes
Serves 6 to 8
Great for: an easy and delicious dessert
Wine suggestion: A Rosé d’Anjou
One pound fresh cherries*
1 cup flour
1½ cups milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or the seeds from one vanilla bean!)
4 eggs
2 pinches salt
1 to 2 pinches ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons rum, Armagnac, or Cognac (optional)
Powdered sugar, for garnish
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2 tablespoons almond liqueur, such as Amaretto* (optional)
1/4 cup slivered almonds* (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a ceramic baking or pie dish. Place cherries in the dish. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, milk, baking powder, sugar, vanilla, eggs, cinnamon, salt, and rum (if using). Mix with a handheld blender or whisk until smooth. Set aside for 20 minutes. Pour the batter over the cherries until covered. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Dust the clafoutis with powdered sugar. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.
* To pit or not to pit cherries? Jean-Luc, Isabelle, and most French insist that a clafoutis isn’t a clafoutis unless the pits are kept in the cherries supposedly giving the dish a nuttier flavor. If you decide to pit the cherries, a rebellious friend of mine, Jacqueline, suggests adding in 2 tablespoons of almond liqueur such as Amaretto and 1/4 cup slivered almonds to the batter.