Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherry Clafoutis

Oh my. You're gonna love this. And it's an amazingly quick and easy dessert too. Especially when those heavenly dark cherries appear in the market or, if you're lucky enough to be in Michigan, at one of those delightful roadside stands. My daughter and I would drive along Michigan's M31 on the way to Petoskey, stop and buy cherries and spit the seeds out the window. (Now we'd probably be arrested for littering.) Anyway, I wasn't sure I'd have enough left to make this I was so busy snacking on them.

Deb at Smitten Kitchen came up with this recipe in July of 2007. She used the Ceres & Bacchus’s Plum Clafoutis recipe which, oddly enough, had question marks for some of the ingredient amounts. I had to scroll down and read all the comments before I found the numbers. Basically, it's a Yorkshire Pudding recipe. With fruit. Sort of. It puffs up and ends up looking like a cross between a custard and a cake.

Smitten Kitchen says: "Larousse Gastronomique and other traditionalists insist that the pits impart an almond flavor when baked within the custard, something no authentic clafoutis should be deprived of." 
So I did. I left the pits in (oh so much easier on the chef) and just warned everyone so there weren't any unexpected trips to the dentist.

Calfoutis are considered one of the glories of the French peasant table. It's best served warm and eaten the day it's made, but Deb also suggested trying it for breakfast the next morning with yogurt, something I couldn't do 'cause there wasn't a speck left. If you're thinking it would be too sweet, you're wrong. It's really not an overly sweet dessert at all.
 

And here's a surprise: clafoutis are always made with cherries. If you use other fruit (and please do.... use any fruit you like) it's called a Flognarde. (pronounced flow  nyard)

I'll try not to post too many cherry recipes ( I also found some Rainier cherries in the same market) in the next few weeks, but will space them out here and there. Rather like my rhubarb recipes. I do apologize for getting on these obsessive fruit kicks. But I did make something really healthy last post, right?

Cherry Clafoutis
From Smitten Kitchen, July 2007

Ingredients:
2 cups black cherries
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup flour
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons rum (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°. Butter a glass pie pan, round baking dish, large cake pan or oven proof skillet. Scatter the cherries (with or without pits) evenly over the bottom.

Beat the eggs and sugar with a whisk until lighter in color. Gradually add the melted butter, beating to incorporate. Add the flour all at once and whisk until the batter is well mixed. Slowly add the milk a little at a time. Then the vanilla and the rum, if using. The batter should be smooth and very shiny.

Pour the batter slowly over the cherries and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until slightly browned and almost set in the middle. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

           Happy Memorial Day to everyone!