Cherry clafoutis

Have you ever tried clafoutis? Do you like it? Clafoutis is traditional French dessert made with cherries and flan-like batter. Usually it’s dusted with powdered sugar and served warm for breakfast or dessert. The original clafoutis comes from Limousin region of France and is made with unpitted cherries because the pits contain amygdalin, the active chemical in almond extract, so during baking a small amount of amygdalin from the pits is released into the clafoutis, adding a complementary note to its flavor. I am way too worried of breaking a tooth (mine or somebody else’s!) to even consider baking it this way! There are many variations of clafoutis, using other fruit like apricots, plums, blackberries, blueberries etc but when other kinds of fruit are used instead of cherries, the dish is properly called a flaugnarde.

I have to say that this traditional dessert is not for everybody as it has a specific texture and it’s something between a cake and a pancake, also it has slightly eggy taste to it, specially when it’s warm. Some recipes ask for up to 6 eggs but I used the one with only 3 large eggs. Also I find the taste of cherries compliments the rich batter flavor so it works well together. I also did something that probably all French chefs of the world would scream at me in rage! I replaced the regular milk with creamy home made almond milk!! I know, I know, but in this way I could also eat it and I find that replacing milk with almond milk works every time (at least in my experience!). I used the recipe from Jamie Oliver magazine by Kate McCullough but adapted it slighlty. You can find the original recipe here.

Let me know if you try it and if you liked it! You might want to add a bit more of powdered sugar as clafoutis itself is only slightly sweet. Also for me personally it tasted even better cold from the fridge but that’s me, maybe you prefer it warm…