Cherry Clafoutis

This Cherry Clafoutis is a classic French dessert consisting of fresh cherries baked in a dense custard. You could also use apricots, peaches or blueberries.

A Typical Day

About three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, we head to the farmers’ market near our home to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. I avoid, as much as possible, going to the supermarket with two tiny tots in tow, but the farmers’ market makes grocery shopping a pure pleasure.

There are no crowded and narrow aisles to navigate, which means the children can run around from stand to stand, inspecting the beautiful produce on display and “help” me to do the shopping.

Our first stop is always at the Bäckerie Känzig stand for a Müüsli for my son (a sweetened bun in the shape of a mouse which is sprinkled with pearl sugar), and a Volkorngipfeli (multigrain croissant) for my daughter. The ladies working the stand have a soft spot for children and always give half a Weggli (soft bread roll) to each child. With these baked goods secured, the children are kept occupied for a brief moment while I visit my usual vendors.

Once the shopping is done, we then often head to a nearby playground for the children to burn off the calories from the morning’s intake of pastries. But in the event of rain (we always go to the markets, rain or shine), we like to pop into one of the many coffee shops nearby where I try to enjoy a coffee while my daughter gets up to mischief.

Cherries as a Meal

My favourite indulgence at the moment is sitting down with a bag of cherries to devour as a meal, all on my lonesome. And while binge-watching back-to-back episodes of The Americans on TV.

Of course, this means that I also have to buy an extra bag of cherries for the family to enjoy, which often disappears the moment I set the bowl on the table.

I’m loving the big, fat, juicy cherries which are imported next door from France; the children can’t seem to get enough of them, which has therefore made them a great tool for bribery in our household these past few weeks. (The Swiss cherries are very good, too, but just not as meaty.)

Cherry Crumble Cake

But the unthinkable happened the other day – I bought too many cherries. Or rather, I went a bit overboard with the other stone fruits which are coming into season and the once plump but firm cherries were starting to look a bit past their prime.

While I think cherries are best enjoyed eaten just as they are, adding them to a cake is a better option if they are a bit too ripe for eating.

On such occasions, I love to make a Cherry Crumble Cake by simply following the recipe for Apricot Crumble Cake, but using pitted cherries in place of the apricots.

But after posting the photo for my Cherry Crumble Cake on Instagram, someone mentioned Cherry Clafoutis and I knew that that had to be next on my to-bake list.

Cherry Clafoutis Recipe

A clafoutis is a French dessert which, in its original form, is a rich custard baked until it is set. Cherries are a popular fruit used in clafoutis, and the stones are traditionally left in, supposedly because they add to the flavour of the dessert.

But as we now live in a litigious society, I recommend pitting the cherries first, which also means you can be more relaxed about serving this dessert to children and older guests.

This recipe for Cherry Clafoutis is adapted from A Kitchen in France by the lovely and ever-inspiring Mimi Thorisson.

I had a bottle of orange flower water in the pantry which had remained untouched for a terribly long time, but I was reminded of her recipe as I was wondering what to do with this orange flower water.

This dessert is fairly easy to whip up, and as it needs time to set, it’s also perfect to make a bit ahead of time if you have guests coming over later in the day.

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