Whole sweet cherries baked, pits in, under a thick, custardy batter until puffed and golden at the edges. The Limousin way with fresh BC cherries in summer, and good with frozen pitted cherries and a little almond extract the rest of the year.
I grew up with clafoutis, and at home the cherries always went in whole, pits in. That's still how I make it. The pits give the custard a faint almond taste, the cherries keep their juice instead of bleeding into the batter, and you skip the most tedious job in the kitchen.
The one thing to remember is to warn your guests. In Canada most people expect pitted fruit in a dessert, so I say it before the first spoonful and put a small bowl on the table for the pits. Fresh BC sweet cherries work very well this way; frozen ones are always sold pitted, so out of season I add a little almond extract to bring back what the pits give.
A clafoutis is cherries in a buttered dish under a thick, crêpe-like batter, baked until it puffs. It comes from the Limousin, in central France, and it's the dessert you make when cherries are cheap. As it cools it settles into something between a flan and a soft cake.
Fresh cherries with pits, or a frozen bag?
Fresh BC sweet cherries are in stores in high summer, and that's the time for the traditional version: stems off, pits in. The rest of the year, a bag of frozen pitted dark sweet cherries works well with ¼ tsp almond extract in the batter. Thaw them in a sieve and pat them dry, or their juice turns the batter grey and watery.
Getting a set centre, not a soggy one
There isn't much batter, just under half a litre for 500 g of fruit, so the dish matters. In a 23–25 cm dish it comes about halfway up the cherries and sets in the middle before the edges dry out. Wet frozen fruit and a dish that's too big are the two usual reasons a clafoutis comes out soggy or tough.
Making it in Canada
The 2 French ingredients, and what to buy for them in Canada.
Cerises noires, avec les noyaux→Fresh BC sweet cherries, pits in, or frozen pitted dark sweet cherries
A French clafoutis uses dark sweet cherries, stems off and pits in. Fresh BC sweet cherries are the closest in summer and go in the same way, whole. Frozen bags are sold pitted, which loses the faint almond taste the pits give, so add the almond extract below.
🛒 Life Smart Organic Frozen Pitted Dark Sweet Cherries, 300 g, at Metro (buy two bags); Great Value Frozen Dark Sweet Pitted Cherries, 600 g, at Walmart; Nature's Touch Dark Cherries, 1.5 kg, at Costco. The Great Value bag says it may contain pits, so feel each cherry as you spread them out.
Kirsch→¼ tsp pure almond extract
With pitted or frozen cherries, almond extract brings back the faint almond taste the pits give, and it's in every baking aisle. With the pits in, skip it. Kirsch, the cherry brandy some French recipes add, is usually sold in 700 mL bottles, which is a lot for one tablespoon. If you have some, use 1 tbsp instead of the extract, not both: the almond would take over.
🛒 Club House Pure Almond Extract, 43 mL, at Metro, Super C, Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore. For kirsch, the LCBO lists Peureux Kirsch de Fougerolles in a 700 mL bottle.
Good to know: Ontario sour cherries, in season for a short stretch in summer, make a good clafoutis too. Add 25 g more sugar to the batter.
Ready to cook?
Cherry Clafoutis
Clafoutis aux cerises
Whole sweet cherries baked, pits in, under a thick, custardy batter until puffed and golden at the edges. The Limousin way with fresh BC cherries in summer, and good with frozen pitted cherries and a little almond extract the rest of the year.
Prep time
15 min
Cook time
40 min
Resting time
20 min
Total time
1 hr 15 min
Servings
6
Cool at least 20 minutes before serving.
Ingredients
Original recipe: 6 servings.
Instructions
Prepare the dish. Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter a 23–25 cm (9–10 in) baking dish of about 1.5 L and sprinkle it with 1 tbsp sugar. Pull the stems off the cherries, leave the pits in, and spread them in a single layer.
Mix the batter. Whisk the eggs and sugar until smooth. Whisk in the flour and salt, then the milk and vanilla (plus the almond extract or kirsch if the cherries are pitted), until you have a thin, lump-free batter.
Pour. Whisk the batter once more and pour it gently over the cherries, so they stay in one layer.
Bake. Bake 35–40 minutes, until puffed, golden at the edges and set in the centre: a knife pushed in the middle should come out clean, with no raw batter where it touches the cherries. Don't open the oven during the first 25 minutes, or it falls before it sets.
Cool and serve. Let it cool at least 20 minutes; it will sink, which is normal. Dust with icing sugar and serve lukewarm or at room temperature. If the pits are in, tell everyone before the first spoonful and put a small bowl on the table for them.
Notes
Make-ahead: the batter keeps up to a day, covered, in the fridge. Whisk it again before pouring, since the flour settles.
Best the day it's made. Keeps 2 days covered in the fridge; bring it back to room temperature before serving.
With young children at the table, make it with pitted cherries: whole pits are a choking risk.
Want to pit fresh cherries without a pitter? Push a chopstick or a sturdy straw through each one from the stem end, over a bowl to catch the juice, and add the almond extract.
A glass or ceramic dish gives softer edges; metal gives crisper ones.
Course: Desserts · Cuisine: French · Adapted for Canadian kitchens
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