If you say easy and quick Sunday afternoon snack, I’ll straight away tell you: CHERRY CLAFOUTIS! This classic French dessert is the ultimate comfort food. Always a hit with both kids and adult, this baked cherry custard cake is a definite must try!
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What is a Clafoutis
A Clafoutis is a super quick and easy traditional French Dessert. This rustic looking dessert combines a baked custard-like batter with seasonal fruits.
To explain how a clafoutis tastes, I will say that it is like a Flan and a Baked Pancake had a baby! Although the Cherry Clafoutis is the most commonly found, you can basically use any fruit to make a clafoutis (also sometimes called a “Flaugnarde“) .
The sweet custardy batter mixed with the flavour of fruits is simply heaven. It creates a deliciously soft and silky, almost pudding-like dessert that is best enjoyed still warm, straight out of the oven.
It is such a versatile dessert and for me – the ultimate comfort food. I personally love those Cherry Custard Cakes, and I hope you will soon too!
Basic Clafoutis Recipe
For me, comfort food equals super quick and easy recipe. Well, it doesn’t get easier than a Clafoutis! No fancy ingredients or utensils here; it all get mixed up and poured over the fruit of your choice in a large baking dish.
To make a Basic Clafoutis, you will need (see quantities below):
- Butter
- Eggs
- Milk
- Caster Sugar
- Plain Flour
- Salt
- Fruits
Basically, ingredients you should all already have in your pantry, right!?
How to make Cherry Clafoutis
The steps to follow to make a clafoutis are just as easy.
- Chop the Cherries and set aside.
- Whisk the Eggs and Sugar
- Sift in the Flour and Salt
- Finally, add the melted Butter and Milk.
- Place the chopped fruits at the bottom of a large baking dish and pour over the clafoutis batter.
- Bake until set.
- Done!
What cherries to use to make “Clafoutis aux Cerises“
The type of cherries used to make a clafoutis highly depends on the recipe you find, and family traditions. Some like to use whole fresh cherries, other go for pitted ones.
Using un-pitted cherries supposedly create a much stronger fruit flavour and helps to keep the juices in. I have made this recipe with frozen pitted cherries before and found the taste to be quite blend, so I would highly recommend using either fresh cherries or like here, Pitted Morello Cherries.
It is a such great Morello Cherries Recipe if you love those types of cherries! They are known for they strong sweet and sour taste that I personally love in clafoutis.
The tart flavour of morello cherries simply balances the relatively sweet dessert perfectly. Morello Cherries (known as “Griottes” in French) are easily found in jars in the canned fruit section of your supermarket.
They usually come already pitted and are kept in a syrup that I love to use to top the baked dessert.
Other Easy Dessert Recipes Ideas:
- Grapefruit and Orange Panna Cotta
- Easy Dark Chocolate Mousse
- Easy Chocolate Brownie Bites
- Pear Crumble Cake
- Belgian Lemon Tea Cake from It’s Not Complicated Recipes
- Apple Rhubarb Crumble from AnotherFoodBlogger
- Light Peach Eton Mess by Mrs Jone’s Kitchen
Easy French Cherry Clafoutis Recipe:
Easy Cherry Clafoutis
Ingredients
Cherry Clafoutis
- 80 gr (1/3 cup) Butter, melted and cool
- 6 Eggs
- 500 ml (2 cups) Full Cream Milk
- 50 gr (3,5 tbsp) Caster Sugar
- 200 gr (1 1/3 cup) Plain Flour
- 1 pinch Salt
- 200 gr (7 oz) Pitted Morello Cherries
Cherry Compote (optional)
- 300 gr (10,5 oz) Pitted Morello Cherries with the jar syrup
- 2 tbsp Caster Sugar
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on 180’C/350’C.
- Whisk the Eggs and Sugar until foamy. Sift in the Flour and Salt and stir until combined.
- Slowly pour in the cool melted Butter, then the Milk. Whisk to obtain a rather liquid batter.
- Grease a large round ceramic baking dish (see note 1 and 2).Place the pitted Morello Cherries at the bottom of the baking dish, and cover with with the clafoutis batter (see note 3). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the custard is set.
- Serve warm straight away, or keep in the fridge for 48 hours. I recommend re-heating the dessert after being kept in the fridge.Optionally, top the dessert with a Cherry Compote.
Cherry Compote
- Use the rest of the cherries and syrup from your Morello Cherries Jar to make the compote. Pour the fruits and the liquid in a small pot. Add the Caster Sugar and Lemon Juice, and leave to slowly reduce on a low-heat for about 10 to 15 minutes.
- When ready to serve, slice the Cherry Clafoutis and serve topped with some Cherry Compote.
Notes
- I use a large round oven-safe ceramic dish. You can also use a square or rectangular ceramic or glass dish.
- Note that the quantities of this recipe will make a large cherry clafoutis for 12 people. Simply divide the ingredients by two to make a smaller version of the dessert.
- You can also pour the batter first and place the cherries over it – or do half at the bottom, half at the top. It is a rustic dessert, so make your own rules!
I am unable to find caster sugar. Are there any alternates I might be able to use?
Hi there, fine white sugar will work well here too. Brown sugar could be used instead too if you cannot find white sugar!