It is Summer time and that means many fruits are in season! The good thing for us consumers is that prices drop and we can save tens to hundred of dollars on certain groceries. It’s axiomatic to say that cherries are quite expensive. The average price is about $3.99/lb. and because cherries are quite heavy, you can end up spending loads on not that many cherries.

My eyes are in disbelief because some grocery stores are selling cherries for $0.99/lb!! Purchasing plenty is clearly ineluctable and while I do snack on many, making dishes out of the cherries are also an option. I’m not a huge fan of cherry pie, but there is a French dish called Cherry Clafoutis that uses cherries as the center of attention. The dish is quite light, refreshing, and includes a slight tang from the lemon zest.

I urge you to make this dish now!!

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Cherry Clafoutis

yield: 2 mini gratin pans (17 cm.) or one 9 in. gratin pan

Ingredients:

• 1 c. cherries, pitted and halved
• 1/2 c. milk (any fat percentage will work)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. caramel extract (optional)
• 1 tbsp. melted butter
• 2 tbsp. slivered almonds
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 c. AP flour
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Butter the baking dishes and coat with a thin layer of flour.
3. In a medium bowl, beat the milk, eggs, extracts, and butter together.
4. Add in both sugars and lemon zest and whisk until incorporated.
5. Sift in the flour, salt, and baking powder and whisk until incorporated.
6. In the baking dishes, lay the cherries, pitted sides up and sprinkle the slivered almonds on top. Pour in the batter and bake in the oven for 30-35 min. or until browned.
7. The clafoutis will puff up significantly but will deflate once slightly cooled. Dust with powdered and serve when warm.

The clafoutis can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days and heats up in the microwave extremely well. I enjoyed the clafoutis with a cup of hot tea and coffee and it was absolutely delicious! Clafoutis has a gooey, pudding-like texture but I don’t like that texture as much so my recipe yield a slightly gooey interior with a semi-crispy, bread-like texture on the edges… It is so so delicious!! I achieve this by adding some baking powder and I actually prefer it this way. I also use less sugar than traditional recipes because cherries add a great amount of sweetness already!

I hope you enjoy cherry clafoutis, especially in this season of cherry craze!