Family legend has it that I swallowed all the pits when I ate cherries for the first time… and I actually believed that when my dad told me a cherry tree would be growing on my head (in fact I was pretty excited about that!!!). Twenty some years have passed, there is no cherry tree on my head, but my fondness for the fruit continues to deepen. When cherries appear at my local market, I just have to buy them. Sweet, crisp and juicy, they often don’t even make it to my kitchen- I usually gobble them all up on my way home. But if there  are a few left, I will use them to make this dessert.

Cherry clafoutis is one of the easiest French desserts you can ever make, simply perfect for cherry season and is absolutely amazing. The batter used in clafoutis is based on a crêpe batter. Unlike traditional custard, it contains flour, giving it a dense texture. The thickened batter ensures that any juice that escapes from the cherries is well-contained. Other fruits would also work well in this dish. Try peaches, blueberries, plums or apricots!

Voilà! Un dessert facile et délicieux!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of fresh sweet cherries, pitted
• 3 eggs (at room temperature)
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius . Butter and lightly flour the baking dish.
2. Scatter the cherries over the bottom of the dish.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugars together.
4. Add in the salt and flour.
5. Add the milk and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth.
6. Pour into the baking dish over the cherries.
7. Bake for 35-45 minutes in water bath, until lightly browned or a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. Let cool in the oven for 10min before taking it out.
9. When cool dust the clafoutis with powdered sugar. Serve!

Note: It will wiggle a bit when you pull it out of the oven, that is normal.

Place on a wire rack to cool. The clafoutis will have puffed up quite a bit and will deflate while cooling.

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