Cherry Clafoutis - the Classic French Custard Dessert

Easy recipe for French Cherry Clafoutis, a classic French custard dessert from the Limousin region in France. Traditionally made with cherries, it's so good for picnics and breakfast too. Discover the best cherries to use with my baking tips to make it extra light with less sugar and more flavour.

I just made this. I must say it exceeded my expectations. It’s absolutely delicious and very easy to make. Will definitely make again.

Michelle

Clafoutis Pronunciation

The French word, Clafoutis, is occasionally spelled Clafouti in Anglophone countries, as the ending 's' isn't pronounced. It sounds just as it's written, "Clafootee".

What Does Clafoutis Mean?

According to the Larousse Gastonomique French culinary dictionary (the hard copy has a better explanation), Clafoutis comes from the ancient French verb, Claufir.
Clafir, in modern French, also means to fill (remplir) or sprinkle (parsemer).

What Does a Cherry Clafoutis Taste Like?

The classic clafoutis is simply a baked custard with cherries, eggs and flour as the main ingredients.
So, is it eggy? Well, as it's a custard, there are 4 eggs in it plus a yolk but it's not really eggy like an omelette or a savoury quiche.

The batter is not unlike the batter used for French pancakes (crêpes). Likewise, eggs are used in crêpe batter but does it taste eggy? No as there's some flour in it. I prefer not to add a lot of flour to the recipe, as I find too much makes this a bit heavy and even a bit rubbery. To make it light, I prefer this recipe ratio.

The fresh fruits are also baked or roasted in the batter, which concentrates their flavours and makes them juicy. As we keep the cherry stones in, the result is a cherry dessert that explodes with natural flavours, with a slight hint of almond.

Many French chefs also create their own spin to the classic. For example, French chef, Anne-Sophie Pic adds cinnamon and butter to the batter. She pre-cooks the cherries and serves it with a cinnamon cream. Chef Philippe Conticini also adds cinnamon with hazelnut flour, orange zest and tops with a Speculoos (Biscoff) crumble. While it's good, it's straying from the authentic recipe.

What Cherries are Best for Clafoutis?

Any kind of fresh cherries are best for clafoutis. It depends how you like your cherries! Do you like them acidic or extra sweet? We had a Napoleon cherry tree in the garden and honestly, they were so acidic that we'd add too much sugar and it wasn't the same pleasure. So I wouldn't recommend, personally.

However, if we're lucky enough to visit Antoine's parents in Provence during cherry season in the early summer, my mother-in-law, Madeleine proudly rustles up her Clafoutis with local bigarreau cherries, les Burlat.

These dark-skinned cherries are huge and firm, deliciously sweet with only a slight acidity. Equivalents are Bing, Chelan, La Early Red (although black), Black Douglas. They're easy to spot as are darker in colour and have a slight heart shape to them.

Can I Cook Cherries without Pitting Them?

Many clafoutis recipes require pitted cherries, but traditionally in Limousin, you can cook whole cherries without pitting them. The result is a warning about the stones in the clafoutis before eating, and most people discreetly remove the stones at the table. Except for my husband, Antoine, who humorously catapults them into the garden while claiming to plant cherry trees with his Corsican, 'Heh, je plante!'  Oh, pul-ease!

During a short 30-minute bake, the cherry stones add a subtle almond flavour to the clafoutis and won't burst if left unpitted. This method is quick and avoids the mess of extracting cherry juice by hand.

You can skip purchasing fancy pitting tools and simply use whole cherries. However, it's advisable to pit the cherries before serving to more delicate guests.

Can I Make it with Frozen Cherries?

Although much better made with fresh cherries, you can also use frozen. As they release more liquid, bake for an extra 10-15 minutes.

Can You Freeze Cherry Clafoutis?

If using fresh cherries, you can freeze cherry clafoutis. However, I wouldn't recommend it. Somehow freezing custards bring out their liquid and lose their flavour. So, although it's possible, if you can make it fresh it's preferable - even using frozen cherries.

Gluten Free French Custard Dessert

This clafoutis recipe uses a little flour but to make a gluten free version, replace with half the amount of cornflour or cornstarch (Maïzena in France).

Likewise, for a gluten free version, replace plain flour with ground almonds (almond flour) as it's such a lovely combination with summer fruits.

Cherry Clafoutis Recipe

Printable recipe card below

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/360°F (gas 4).

Prepare the dish: butter an ovenproof china or pyrex dish (22cm diameter and 5cm deep) large enough to hold the cherries in a single layer. Sprinkle in the sugar, shaking it all around so that it coats the surface of the dish.

Place the washed and dried cherries in it. An easy rule of thumb for amount of cherries used is that they should fill the dish in one layer. So when baking, they will be evenly distributed. We normally keep the stones but if you prefer without, then pit them first.

Prepare the batter: combine the flour, vanilla powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Using a balloon whisk, mix in the eggs until the mixture is smooth.  Continue whisking adding the milk, cream and Kirsch (or almond extract).
This way there will be no lumps in the batter.

Optional almond topping: I often add slivered almonds which toast nicely in the oven, adding a lovely texture - but this is not classic. Normally it's without but I love how the flavour echoes the almond-likeness of the cherries.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Leave to cool slightly then lightly dust with a little icing/confectioner's sugar.

Do you Eat Clafoutis Hot or Cold?

A cherry clafoutis is never served hot, straight out of the oven. First leave to cool and either serve slightly warmed, at room temperature or chilled. Serve slices directly from the dish.

Although served for dessert or teatime, we also love this chilled for breakfast or brunch on the weekends. As we never serve clafoutis hot, except for savoury clafoutis (see below), there's no need to reheat it.

More Clafoutis Recipes

To see how versatile this dessert is, see my Clafoutis demonstration video, made with different fruits and its gluten free version. The video is based on a strawberry baked custard dessert, but I show the different variations:

• Strawberry Almond Clafoutis recipe this French custard dessert is made with ground almonds or pistachios (I also make it with Mirabelle Plums or Apricot and Lavender)
• Blueberry and Lemon Clafoutis
• Raspberry Clafoutis
• make it savoury! Try this asparagus clafoutis, served with parmesan sauce.

This recipe post was first published 11 June 2015 but is now completely updated