Desserts
Cherry Clafouti
Hard to fathom there’s anything easier than a fruit crisp or cobbler, but this country-French favorite, Cherry Clafouti, wins that honor. It’s fancier, too. This friendly, relaxed, yet elegant fruit dessert, originating in the Limousin region of France, is pie-like, but simpler, thus to many, so much better. No stressing over dough, just a quick buzz of the batter ingredients in a blender, then pour and bake.
Ingredients
COMBINE:
BRUSH:
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400° with rack in middle position.
Combine cherries, Kirsch, and sugar; macerate 15–20 minutes, then strain.
Brush a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with 1 Tbsp. butter; heat in oven while blending batter.
Blend remaining 5 Tbsp. butter, half-and-half, eggs, flour, sugar, zest, vanilla and almond extracts, and salt in a blender until batter is smooth and frothy.
Pour half the batter into heated pie plate. Place cherries in a single layer over batter; top with remaining batter.
Bake clafouti until center is set and slightly browned, 25–30 minutes. Let sit at least 15 minutes; sift powdered sugar over top before serving.
Macerating the cherries with Kirsch and sugar causes the cherries to release some of their juices. For added flavor, you can add about a ¼ cup of the macerating liquid to the batter (with the milk), but it will slightly discolor the clafouti.
A ceramic vessel keeps the edges of the clafouti from becoming too crisp. And for easy release, brush the pie plate with a little melted butter, but don’t brush the top half-inch of the plate to avoid over-browning.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per serving
Calories: 262
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 14g 21%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 103mg 34%
Sodium 192mg 8%
Carbs 29g 9%
Protein 5g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.