I think everyone has those dishes that immediately take you to a time and place in your life; this is one for me and it’s super specific. In the mid-2010s a restaurant opened on Bowery in NYC called Rebelle. My husband and I loved it and it quickly became a frequent dinner spot for us. There are dishes and meals I still think about from the brief three years it was open, one being the clafoutis for two (pastry chefs supporting pastry chefs, I always order the uncommon dishes). After it closed, I started figuring out how to recreate the dish. I love that there are so many ways to play with flavors by using different alcohols and fruits, but I recently learned from the fabulous Dorie Greenspan that if you are using stone fruit or berries, you’ll want to call this dish a flognarde. Clafoutis is only for cherries.
What is a Clafoutis?
Clafoutis is a French dessert that utilizes fresh, unpitted cherries and buries them into a baked custard. Making a homemade custard can sound daunting but with this recipe it makes things a bit easier. Most of the ingredients are probably already in your kitchen too like eggs, milk, flour, baking powder, and sugar. Which means there’s no excuse not to whip up this decadent treat!
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Cherry Clafoutis
- Total Time: 2 Hours
- Yield: Serves 6 people 1x
Description
This French dessert mixes cherries from the farm in a homemade custard.
Ingredients
- Approximately 1 lb cherries, pitted (from Norman’s Orchard, Northhill Orchard & Supply)
- ½ cup (64 g) all-purpose flour, sifted
- ½ tsp baking powder
- Pinch of coriander (cinnamon or allspice pair nicely)
- Pinch of salt
- 4 tbsp (2 oz) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (100 g) sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tbsp Nocino (kirsch, cognac or other brandy) (from Faccia Brutto, Forthave Spirits, Watershed Distillery)
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk (from Marburger Dairy)
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Center rack in oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Use a 9” pie plate, a porcelain quiche pan or another 1 qt capacity ovenproof pan (preferably not metal).
- Butter pan and place on parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Pit cherries and slice in half. Arrange evenly on the pie plate.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, spice and salt.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan, remove from heat and whisk in sugar. Once fully mixed, whisk in eggs one at a time, followed by liquor and vanilla. Whisk in the dry ingredients without over-mixing. Stir in milk to make a pourable batter, a few lumps are ok.
- Pour the batter over the fruit.
- Bake for 60-70 minutes until the fruit is bubbling. The clafoutis batter will be puffed across the center and firm to touch. The surface will be golden and cracked.
- Transfer the dish to a cooling rack. Dust with powdered sugar once cool.
Recipe by Lauren Bohl White, Local Provisions
Styling by Keith Recker
Photography by Dave Bryce
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