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Clafoutis is an egg custard fruit tart of French origins, specifically from the southwest region of Limousin.
But isn’t this an Italian food blog, you might ask? Well, yes, but clafoutis has become quite popular in Italy. Like so many Italian recipes, clafoutis is both easy to make and absolutely delicious, qualities which have endeared it to Italian cooks, earning it an honorary place in the Italian repertoire. Heck, there are even recipes for clafoutis in the venerable The Silver Spoon cookbook and in Italian Cuisine.
To make clafoutis, you just mix up a simple batter of flour, eggs, milk and sugar and pour it over fruit placed in a baking dish. Bake in a moderate oven until the mixture is cooked through and lightly browned on top, and voila! you’ll have a lovely dessert of fruit enrobed in a flan-like egg custard.
I like to make clafoutis with all sorts of fruit, but in the summer there’s no better choice than the classic one, with cherries. In the autumn and winter, you can go with apples or pears, and in the spring strawberries. There are even savory clafoutis to try. Once you’ve mastered this basic recipe, the only limit is your imagination.
Ingredients
- 500g (1 lb) cherries, pitted (or not if you want to be traditional)
To make the clafoutis bat:
- 3 eggs
- 200ml (7 fl oz) milk
- 100g (3-1/2 oz) sugar, or more or less depending on your taste
- 100g (3-1/2 oz) flour (preferably pastry flour or “00” flour)
- A tiny pinch of salt
For baking:
For the topping:
- Powdered (aka confectioner’s) sugar, to taste
Directions
Start by pitting the cherries. You can cut them in half or leave them whole, as you prefer.
Whisk together the batter ingredients until smooth. Start with eggs, milk and sugar, then adding the flour bit by bit. You can do this by hand, using a mixing bowl and a whisk, or in the blender.
Lay the cherries in the bottom of a well-buttered round baking dish. They should cover the bottom entirely.
Now pour the batter gently over the cherries, taking care not to displace them.
Bake in a moderate (180C/350F) oven for until cooked through and ever so slightly golden on top, usually about 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes. The batter will puff up considerably while baking, then settle down as it cools.
Serve your clafoutis slightly warm or at room temperature, dusted with powdered sugar.
Notes
The recipe for cafoutis is simplicity itself. The main trick is to bake it just enough to cook through without overcooking it, which is why I like to bake it in a moderate oven. That said, while an overcooked clafoutis may lack delicacy, it’s not the end of the world by any means. Your clafoutis will still be delicious.
You also don’t want your clafoutis to be too thick, or it will take too long to cook through, making for an overcooked, tough exterior. A thicker clafoutis is also liable to crack, as shown in the pictures in this post. This doesn’t affect its flavor, but if you’re a stickler for looks, go for a clafoutis where the batter just barely covers the cherries. A 26cm (10 in) pie plate or even better a quiche dish should work well for these measurements.
Variations
The measurements among clafoutis recipes can vary quite a bit from recipe to recipe. The amount of cherries can range anywhere from 300g (10 oz) to 700g (1-1/2 lbs) according to taste and the size of your baking pan. (I just use enough to cover the bottom of my dish, and then add some more if I think it needs it.) Some recipes use more eggs and less flour, which results in a more eggy and delicate custard. The amount of sugar ranges from as little as 50g (7 oz) to as much as 100g (3-1/2 oz), depending on your sweet tooth. Some recipes, notably that of the Silver Spoonuse a mixture of heavy cream and milk for a richer result. Some call for more liquid, as much as 300ml (10 fl oz). Long story short, feel free to play around until you get the taste and texture that appeals best to you.
Some recipes for clafoutis call for some additional flavorings in the batter, like brandy or rum, as well as vanilla extract or grated lemon or orange zest. Personally I like the purity of this plain batter which lets the fine taste of the fruit shine through without distraction.
Some recipes you bake at a slightly higher temp (190C/375F) for slightly less time, say 20-25 minutes.
They say that traditionally a cherry clafoutis is made with unpitted cherries. The pits are said to lend a pleasant slight bitterness to the filling. Obviously you spit them out as you eat. That said, stickler for traditional recipes that I am, and lover of easy recipes, I actually prefer to pit my cherries for easier eating.
Other clafoutis
As mentioned at the top, clafoutis will work with all sorts of fruits. In the autumn and winter, I enjoy apple and pear clafoutis, for example. In the spring strawberries or a mix of berries. And so on.
The Italians have also devised recipes for savory clafoutis made with vegetable rather than fruit. Here you obviously omit the sugar and add more salt and often grated cheese. Typical fillings include cherry tomatoes, fried eggplant or zucchini, or sautéed onions. As with a sweet clafoutis, you can let your imagination run wild.
P.S
A quick shout out to reader “Chiaroscuro” for suggesting this post!
Cherry clafoutis
Cherry Clafoutis
- 500 g 1 lb cherries, pitted (or not if you want to be traditional)
To make the beat:
- 3 eggs
- 200 ml 7 fl oz milk
- 100 g 3-1/2 oz sugar, or more or less depending on your taste
- 100 g 3-1/2 oz flour (preferably pastry flour or “00” flour)
- A tiny pinch of salt
For the topping:
- Powdered aka confectioner’s sugar, to taste
Start by pitting the cherries. You can cut them in half or leave them whole, as you prefer.
Whisk together the batter ingredients until smooth. Start with eggs, milk and sugar, then adding the flour bit by bit. You can do this by hand, using a mixing bowl and a whisk, or in the blender.
Lay the cherries in the bottom of a well-buttered round baking dish. They should cover the bottom entirely.
Now pour the batter gently over the cherries, taking care not to displace them.
Bake in a moderate (180C/350F) oven for until cooked through and ever so slightly golden on top, usually about 30-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes. The batter will puff up considerably while baking, then settle down as it cools.
Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, dusted with powdered sugar.
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