Clafoutis Recipe
This is a slightly doctored version of Julia Child’s recipe. I know, I’m fiddling with a classic, but almond and cherries go together just too well (hence a little Amaretto in the mix). I’m also “country-ing” up the thing by adding some brown sugar. Note that in another divergence from the original, I suggest that the cherries be left intact, not pitted. Pit them if you wish, but the end product won’t be as appealing, either to taste or to look at. And anyway, what’s a little pit-spitting among friends?
10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) milk
2.5 ounces (1/3 cup) white sugar
2.5 ounces (1/3 cup) light brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
splash of Amaretto or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2.5 ounces (1/2 cup) flour*
1 pound (3 cups) cherries with pits left in
powdered sugar for dusting
Preheat oven to 350. Wash cherries and pull off any stems. In a blender or food processor, combine the milk, sugars, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour. Process until homogenous. Pour cherries into a 9″ cast iron skillet or 8-cup baking dish. Gently pour the batter into the dish. Don’t worry if the batter is deeper than the circumference of the cherries, they’ll float. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the clafoutis is browned and slightly puffed. Allow to cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.
* For an even more interesting flavor and texture, replace half of the wheat flour with almond flour or ground almonds.
I’ve found that just about any fruit (aside from citrus, and probably grapes) that’s in-season works well in a clafoutis. A nice way of using fruit that is in over-abundance.
Do you think a clafoutis would freeze well, or would it be better to freeze the fruit, and use it in a clafoutis later?
clafoutis has always been my comfort food. however in malaysia, you don’t have the luxury of getting fresh cherries like the streets in new york. so, i use local fruits and improvise the recipe a little.
cube some fresh ripe juicy mangoes. for the batter, replace milk with coconut milk and ammeretto with screwpine leaf juice (daun pandan). nice served with black sesame or green tea ice cream.
Wow…that sounds fantastic. I’ll try it, Hariz!
Please, Joe, tell me that frozen cherries will do equally well, or I’ll die of saliva choking before the season comes for the fresh ones!!! (practical interest this time, purely gastronomical, not to say voracious, promise to try em shortly anyway and report the result! leaving for a week, though, so my report will be delayed accordingly)
You can use frozen cherries, though most frozen cherries are pitted, so it’s not exactly ideal. But don’t lt a lack of fresh fruit stop you – make it, Alex…make it!!!
…oh, and another thing: I’m used to the metric system, so the cups and ounces were to me quite some maths in themselves 🙂
Hey Alex! I have conversion tables under “Baking Basics” to the left!
– Joe
What is traditional sweet cherries or sour? And…regardless of tradition…what do you prefer/recommend?