The first time I tasted clafoutis was
during my summer failure as an au pair. I was barely 18 and had been placed
in—to put it mildly—the middle of nowhere. I had already spent a summer in
rural Provence, so I thought I knew the drill: cycle to the city center in the
morning with my hair flowing, romantically cycle back with a baguette in the
basket, spend the day lounging in the sunshine.
Except this village didn’t even have a
bakery for me to cycle to. Or a church. Can it even be called a French village
without that cornerstone of community? Even more depressing, it was too far
north to have much sunshine.
But the country estate did have a grove of
cherry trees, ones that were bursting with deep red cerises. Heading outside with my two-year-old charge, we would
pick those cherries straight off the tree, and then walk straight back inside
to make a clafoutis for that night’s after-dinner treat. The baked dessert was
fresh, sweet, simple—the very essence of French country living.
I didn’t last at that summer job: it only
took a few weeks before I realized that I’m a city girl, through and through
and hopped a train to Paris. But I’ve never stopped loving clafoutis: it always
takes me back to fresh air, open fields, the uncomplicated spirit of French country
living.
What
you need:
3 eggs
(for a richer mix, use 2
whole eggs and 2 egg yolks)
1/3 cup sugar (80 grams)
1/3 cup flour (80 grams)
1 pound cherries
1/3 cup cream or whole milk
1 shot of kirsch, amaretto or Grand
Marnier
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and remove stems from
cherries–but not the pits. (A traditional clafoutis leaves the pits in the
cherries because they release a wonderful flavor as they’re cooked.)
Heat milk
to a boil. Mix eggs, adding sugar and then flour. Add the boiling milk little
by little while stirring to obtain a cream. (Note: you may not need all the
milk, or you might need a little more. It should have the consistency of a
light cake batter.
Add a bit of kirsch if you have any. It will certainly bring
out the cherry flavor, but it isn’t necessary.
Spray an oven-proof dish with
non-stick cooking spray. Place cherries in the dish. Sprinkle with sugar before
pouring the egg mixture over the cherries.
Put in oven for 30 to 40 minutes. A
few minutes before you take it out of the oven, sprinkle with sugar.
Don’t
serve straight away. Let the clafoutis cool for a few hours before serving at
room temperature.
Note: you can replace the cherries with other in-season berries
or stone fruits. I love doing half cherries and half peaches, or a mix of raspberries
and nectarines. Feel free to experiment with this classic recipe!
Bon Appétit!
Related Articles:
5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to France
Insider's France: Exploring Beyond Paris
About the Author
Christine’s first trip to France was at age
11, where she fell in love with pains aux chocolat, modern art and Galeries
Lafayette. She spent summers in
Provence and Paris in high school and university, and moved to Nice after
graduation. Even though Christine is currently living in Melbourne, Australia,
she’s still a Francophile at heart. Follow her adventures at C’est Christine or on Twitter.
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