French country · One dish · Teaches a custard

Cherry
Clafoutis

Name: Cherry Clafoutis
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 450 g sweet cherries; 3 large eggs; 100 g sugar; 180 g whole milk; 60 g all-purpose flour; 5 g vanilla extract; pinch salt; 1 almond extract; 1 butter

Cherries suspended in a thin, custardy batter, baked in one dish. Almost no skill — just one doneness call.

~55 min total 35–40 min bake 15 min rest

Effort ●●○○ Time ●●○○ Some Doing

Vegetarian

Servingsamounts scale to match

Units

Ingredients

Never cut the bake time short — or long. Underbaked is raw batter; overbaked turns the custard rubbery. Pull it the moment the center sets. (You can leave the pits in for a faint almond note, the traditional way — just warn your diners.)

Easier, if you like

Use a cherry pitter for fresh cherries — pitting by hand is a stained, sticky slog. A cheap handheld pitter does the job; a spring-loaded or multi-cherry model is worth it if you cook cherries often.
Frozen pitted cherries save all the pitting — don't thaw; pat off the frost and scatter them in, adding a few minutes to the bake (a little extra moisture is fine in a custard).
Blend the batter: dump the eggs, sugar, milk, vanilla, salt, and flour in a blender and blitz smooth — faster, and fewer bowls.

Method

Cook's notes

Traditionally the pits are left in for a faint almond note — if you do, warn your diners.

Cherry and almond are a classic pairing; a drop or two of almond extract leans into it without overwhelming the fruit.

Make it gluten-free

Gluten-free: a 1:1 GF flour blend works well — the batter is thin and forgiving, so it's an easy swap.