With the damp Nova Scotia spring fading into longer, warmer days I had a sudden urge to make Julia Child’s cherry clafoutis. Although I wasn’t 100% sure what clafoutis was, I did know that I love cherries, and I love them even more when they go on sale. I keep my eye on these plump shiny little red fruits from the time they make their first appearance at $10.99/lb, until around now, when they’re $3.99/lb and sometimes less.
What Is Clafoutis?
Before I baked Julia Child’s cherry clafoutis I had never even heard of clafoutis. Would it be like cake in texture? Custard? Flan? A crepe? Mine turned out to be sort of like all four combined in one however, I will say it leaned more towards the custard / crepe side of of the fence. I used this recipe posted on Epicurious.
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Should I Pit My Cherries For Clafoutis?
I once read if you leave the pits in your cherries, your cherry clafoutis will have more almondy flavour when baked so I did just that (plus, I don’t own a cherry pitter and I didn’t feel like pitting 60 cherries by hand!). The cherries baked so soft that the pits slid right out, however, be sure to mention to your guests the cherry pits are there to prevent any broken teeth! I don’t know if leaving the pits in the cherries made any real difference in flavour, but either way the cherry clafoutis was really good and I’ve made it a number of times since.
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This post was first published on Jun 18, 2013 and was updated on June 19, 2019.
So perfect! I just made clafoutis with roasted rhubarb and vanilla bean. Nummers!
Beeeeaoooootiful!! I've never made a clafoutis, but I vote cla-FOO-tee.
This is on my to-make list this year! Growing up with six cherry trees in BC it literally pains me to pay the sky high Alberta prices for cherries though 🙁
Gah, yours looks mouth watering though. Maybe we'll splurge
@Renee – Roasted, rhubarb and vanilla bean. Three of my favourite things ever!! xo.
@Jessie – I think you may be on to something.
@Stephanie – OR, sub in another seasonal budget-friendly fruit. Seriously, so easy and would go with anything.