French Cherry Clafoutis with Cherries or Blueberries

Name: Clafoutis
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 cups fresh cherries (pitted and halved, or blueberries.); 3 tablespoons sliced almonds; 3 eggs; ¾ cup sugar; 1 tablespoon brown sugar; ½ cup flour; ⅛ teaspoon salt; 1 cup half-and-half; 2 teaspoons vanilla

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With a thick custard like filling a cherry clafoutis is a quick and easy way to enjoy fresh cherries or blueberries. Simple enough for breakfast or for an elegant dessert.

There is nothing more comforting than a simple thick custard surrounding sweet cherries, it’s why a simple French cherry clafoutis is so popular. It’s also one of those desserts you can whip together in no time with minimal ingredients.

This was inspired after Mike tried a blueberry clafoutis at one of our favorite restaurants, Marisols, and I was in love with the texture and flavors. I started searching for recipes and mostly found cherry ones. So when we started getting fresh cherries, I started experimenting. It was so easy to make that I wasn’t sure it would be as good as what we had at Marisols but I think we came pretty close.

I’ve made this with both cherries and blueberries and they are both great choices, you can also use frozen fruit if fresh is not an option.

Blueberry Clafoutis in a baking dish — Blueberry Clafoutis

What is a clafoutis

A Clafoutis is a French dessert that while rich and creamy, is surprisingly simple to make. The texture is much firmer than a creme brûlée so it can hold the fruit. Like a creme brûlée, it’s not overly sweet, the sweetness comes from the fruit itself. It’s not very pretty, so dust it with some powdered sugar for a better presentation and a bit of sweetness.

It’s traditionally made with whole cherries, but seriously, I can’t see eating a desert and having to spit out cherry pits.

What you’ll need for a simple French clafoutis

Fresh cherries – these need to be pitted and cut in half. You can also use frozen cherries, just thaw and drain the juice first.
Slivered almonds – these line the bottom of the baking dish and give it a nice little crunch.
Half-and-Half – to get a creamy custard you need some fat. You can increase it and use heavy cream or you can use whole milk, anything less and you will not achieve the creamy custard.
Sugar – both granulated and powdered. You can adjust the amount by a quarter of a cup if you prefer it less sweet. It’s not overly sweet to begin with so I would suggest trying it with the amount called for. If it’s too sweet for you then skip the powdered sugar on top
Eggs, flour and vanilla

How do you make a cherry clafoutis

Step 1: Place slivered almonds in the bottom of a casserole dish or glass pie pan.

Step 2: Pit cherries, cut them in half and place over the almonds.

Step 3: Whisk together eggs and sugar, add flour and whisk then add half-and-half and vanilla and whisk until it’s smooth. Pour over cherries and bake for about 30 minutes until it’s lightly brown and the custard is set.

Custard filling being poured over cherries

It should come close to the top, but should have some room to expand.

Step 4: Remove from oven and let cool until just warm, then sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Powdered sugar being sprinkled over a baked clafoutis

The texture of the custard is thick and almost rubbery.

This is a dessert you can throw together in no time and it’s pretty hard to mess up. You can also use frozen fruit if you can’t get fresh. You can put it in individual ramekins, just cut the time a little. If you have any left-overs, this is great cold though I prefer mine warm or room temperature.

While this is typically served as a dessert, it’s a wonderful option for brunch or a special breakfast around the holidays. Just cut the sugar down to ½ cup for a less sweet version.

The only thing hard about this dessert is pronouncing it. I put the emphasis on the last syllable, kla-foo-TEE.