Cherry Clafoutis
It's cherry time in Paris and the farmers markets are overflowing with them – Yipppeee!!! I love to eat cherries just about anyway possible, but the dessert: cherry clafoutis or clafoutis aux cerise, is one of my favorites. It shows off the fruit without too much sugar and it's easy to prepare for a crowd. We're serving this at Guy Savoy right now and people can't get enough of it. The real trick is to start with good quality firm, juicy, meaty cherries.
Traditionally the pit is left in the fruit. This is supposed to give flavor it also makes the prep time shorter (double yippeee!). It keeps the cake-like batter from turning pink too. You can pit them if your afraid of cracking a tooth, but half the fun is spitting out the seeds. I often substitute apricots or other stone fruit when in season (blanched first).
Recipe to follow...
Cherry Clafoutis
Ingredients
400g / 1lb cherries
15 ml / 1 tablesppon kirsch
15 ml / 1 tbsp icing sugar
45 g / 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
30 g / 3 Tablespoon flour
170 ml / 3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 lemon rind grated
Nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
1. Mix cherries with kirsh and icing sugar and let sit for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 190 C/ 375 F. Butter an 11-12 inch oval dish or a shallow pan
3. Sift flour and add sugar together. Whisk in milk until smooth. Whisk eggs, vanilla, lemon rind, and nutmeg.
4. Pack cherries on bottom of oval dish and pour batter over. Bake for 45 min or until set. Insert knife into center, if it comes out clean it is done. Serve warm in dish!
Note: sometimes I substitute half of the flour for almond powder because I like cherry and almonds together.
sorry about that, it posted by accident. i love cherry season too and getting to spit the pit in the gutters is fun...
Posted by: jeorg | June 29, 2006 at 09:08 PM
I love your blog! though i'm french i love to read paris blogs by americans -i am abit of an americanophile (yes, the word exists!) as well as a paris lover- and i love how your description of your life here is not all "la vie en rose-amélie poulain-ish", or all "parisians are such dirty-rude-heavy smoking people". i think you are very courageous to do what you're doing and i hope to be able to afford a meal in the 3-star-rated restaurant you're bound to open someday!
Posted by: pounagate | June 30, 2006 at 08:44 AM
I'm just getting together a post on Paris' cherries & I'll put a link to this one. Maybe I'll finally make your Clafoutis with all the cherries I bought to paint...looks wonderful
Posted by: carolg@ParisBreakfasts | July 02, 2006 at 09:40 PM
OK I finally got some cherry ptgs done and added a link to your recipe link here
http://parisbreakfasts.blogspot.com/2006/07/le-temps-des-cerises.html
Posted by: carolg@ParisBreakfasts | July 04, 2006 at 01:14 PM