It’s cherry season! During my last visit to the farmer’s market I was thrilled to see a number of stalls were selling fresh cherries. Since I find it incredibly hard to resist those rosy bing cherries and blushing Rainiers, I bought a rather big bag of both. Usually I would be content to eat the cherries as they were—fresh and delicious—but I’ve seen so many magazine recipes and blog posts featuring cherry desserts lately that I thought I should be a little more creative. Perhaps it is just the name, but the recipes I’d seen for cherry clafouti (pronounced kla-foo-TEE) were particularly intriguing.
Aside from pitting the cherries, making the clafouti was very easy. I had most of the ingredients on hand, except for the milk and cream called for in the original recipe. But since I’ve been using coconut milk as a replacement for milk and cream in other desserts, I thought I’d give it a try for this recipe too. I was hoping a little bit of the coconut flavor would come through in this dish, but the dominate flavor was from the sweet cherries and the egg in the custard.
I dug into one of the individual-sized clafouti shortly after they came out of the oven and enjoyed it so much that I had to have another. Unfortunately the clafouti were not as good after they had been refrigerated, so if you make this recipe serve it to a crowd and finish it the same day you bake it.
Cherry Clafouti
Adapted from Bon Appétit, June 2011
- 1 pound fresh cherries, stemmed and pitted
- 1¼ cups lite coconut milk
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract (or ¾ teaspoon fresh lemon zest)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 8 2/3 or 3/4-cup ramekins and divide the cherries into the 8 dishes.
Bring the coconut milk to a simmer in a small pot over medium heat and set aside. Combine eggs, flour, sugar, lemon extract, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend. Gradually whisk in the warm coconut milk. Whisk the mixture until smooth. Divide the mixture evenly into the 8 ramekins.
Bake clafouti for 30 minutes or until it is set and the top is golden brown. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card | Notes About Recipe Ratings |
|
Tasty Rating Three Chefs (Average Tastiness) |
We loved the cherries in this dish, but didn’t love the eggy taste and texture |
|
Easy Rating
Four Easy Chairs (“ABC, Easy as 123…”!) |
As I mentioned above, pitting the cherries can take a little while, but the recipe comes together pretty quickly after that. |
|
Healthy Rating
One Apple (This Might Take A Year Off Your Life!) |
There is fruit in this dessert, but there is also a fair amount of sugar and fat. |
|
Green Rating
Four Leaves (Mother Earth Approved) |
The cherries were local and organic and most of the other ingredients were organic. Sadly, I don’t think there are any organic and local sources for coconut milk around here. |
I love cheeries and can eat those non stop .. but i never tried to use them in any dish .. i idea of taking those seeds out one by one is so painful !!
Oh how I love cherries and in a clafouti to boot! Very elegant. Not cherry season here but when it is, watch out!
I tried a cherry pistachio clafoutis once…it was tasty but not so yummy…I still prefer to eat cherries fresh… ^_^
Maybe they match better with a less eggy mixture such as that for flan boulanger or even with frangipane…
Haven’t used any cherries yet this year… but I know when I’m ready – I’ll be trying my hand at this clafoutis =)
oooh now I definitely am craving cherries!
Raniers, raniers! The best cherries ever!
Wow, your photos are just stunning… Makes me crave cherries like never before! Oh, such beautiful colors…
This sounds so delicious. Cherries are available here in Sydney too, but it’s not quite the best season for them. I’ll have to save this recipe for later!
Your cherry clafoutis look yummie, specially with coconut milk. Beautiful pictures Sally.
Have a wonderful week ahead
Sally this looks wonderful! I love cherries and used to eat myself sick of them, and I’d do it all over day after day. Clafouti is a wonderful way to enjoy these beautiful summer fruits.