Cherry Clafoutis

 My relationship with this blog is akin to that of a good friend whom you don’t see often but don’t miss a beat when you get back together.  I do this blog as a creative outlet. I have no aspirations to turn this into a business, make profit, or even network with others. I just simply do this for fun, and so when life gets too hectic and this little fun thing becomes a source of stress, I step back knowing I can return anytime without missing a beat. Much has changed in my life since my last blog post allowing me to dedicate more time to my little old blog.  

The inspiration for this post came from the grocery store itself.  I was out doing my weekly groceries the when I saw the bags of beautiful cherries. I have wanted to make a clafoutis for a long time and so what better time than this.  Clafoutis-pronounced cla-fou-tee is a French custard-like cake baked with cherries-though you can basically use any fruit. In her book Julia Child calls it a cherry flan.

Julia Child’s Clafoutis (Mastering the Art of French Cooking page 655)
serves 6-8

1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
3 cups cherries, pitted
1/3 cup sugar
powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a medium size baking dish-think the size of a pie dish.

2. Place milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour in a blender and mix.

3.  Pour a 1/4 inch layer of the batter in baking dish. Place in the oven until a film of batter sets in the bottom of pan.

4.  Remove from the oven and spread the cherries over the batter.  Sprinkle on sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter.

5. Bake for approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

The clafoutis is done it has puffed and browned and passes the knife test.

Enjoy!