Clafoutis
Clafoutis aux cerises
Black cherries baked whole in a thick, sweet batter of eggs, milk and a little flour. Limousin farmhouse dessert, served warm, stones and all.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Clafoutis aux cerises.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- 20 min
- Total
- 1 hr 15 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Clafoutis is cherries baked in batter. The batter sits somewhere between a crêpe batter and a custard: eggs, sugar, a little flour, milk and cream, beaten smooth and poured over a single layer of black cherries in a buttered dish. It puffs in the oven, then sinks as it cools to a soft, set flan with browned edges. In the Limousin the cherries go in with their stones. The stones keep the juice inside the fruit so the batter does not turn purple and wet, and they give a faint bitter-almond flavour. Pit them if you are serving people who will not expect them, and warn everyone if you do not.
What you'll need
11 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat the oven to 180°C. Butter a 24 cm baking dish and dust it with 20 g of sugar. Spread the cherries in a single layer. If you pit them, do it over a bowl and leave the juice behind.
5 min
Tip: Stones in keeps the fruit whole and the batter clean. Pitted fruit bleeds into it.
Step 2
Whisk the eggs, 80 g of sugar and the salt until pale and a little frothy. Whisk in the flour until smooth, then pour in the milk, cream, vanilla and kirsch gradually, whisking, to a thin batter like a crêpe batter.
5 min
Step 3
Pour the batter over the cherries. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until puffed and brown at the edges and set in the middle with just a slight wobble.
40 min180°C
Step 4
Let it cool for at least 20 minutes; it will sink, which is right. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.
20 min
Watch: If the stones are in, tell everyone before they bite. Put a small dish on the table for them.
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 320 kcal
- Protein
- 8.5 g
- Carbs
- 36.8 g
- Fat
- 14.8 g
- Saturated fat
- 7.4 g
- Fibre
- 1.5 g
- Sugar
- 22.7 g
- Sodium
- 122 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Eggs
- Milk
- Wheat
- Vegetarian
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 11 November.
Substitutions
Cherries → Plums, pears or apples, in slices
Then it is a flaugnarde. Cook firm fruit in a little butter first so it softens in time.
Kirsch → Nothing, or a few drops of almond extract
The almond extract stands in for the flavour the stones give, if you have pitted the fruit.
Tips
- Frozen black cherries work out of season. Thaw and drain them well first, and expect the batter to colour more.
- It is best on the day. Leftovers keep in the fridge and are good cold for breakfast.
History & culture
It is a June dessert, made when the first black cherries come in, and served warm or at room temperature, dusted with sugar, in farmhouses and village bakeries across central France. The stones go on the side of the plate. Made with any other fruit, apples, plums or pears, it is properly a flaugnarde, though few outside the region bother with the distinction.
Clafoutis comes from the Limousin and the neighbouring Auvergne, and the name is usually traced to the Occitan clafir, to fill. It was a peasant dish, a way to turn eggs, milk and fruit into a pudding without pastry. It reached Paris and the cookbooks in the late 19th century and the national repertoire after that.
Traditional — Limousin cooks use small, dark, sweet-sour cherries and leave the stones in. Some versions use milk only, no cream. Ground almonds turn up in modern recipes; they are not local and are left out here.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Clafoutis take?
1 hr 15 min all in — 15 min prep, 40 min cook, 20 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 6 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Eggs, Milk, Wheat. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Nut-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Oven.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 pinch.
How much sugar?
100 g (80 g for the batter, 20 g for the dish) of Sugar.
What can I use instead?
Cherries → Plums, pears or apples, in slices. Then it is a flaugnarde. Cook firm fruit in a little butter first so it softens in time. Kirsch → Nothing, or a few drops of almond extract. The almond extract stands in for the flavour the stones give, if you have pitted the fruit.
What should I watch for?
If the stones are in, tell everyone before they bite. Put a small dish on the table for them.
Any tips from this recipe?
Frozen black cherries work out of season. Thaw and drain them well first, and expect the batter to colour more. It is best on the day. Leftovers keep in the fridge and are good cold for breakfast.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
Similar dishes
Crêpes
Thin French pancakes — butter in the batter, a hot pan, and whatever filling the house believes in.
Easy
Black Forest gateau
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte
Chocolate sponge soaked in kirsch, layered with whipped cream and sour cherries, finished with chocolate shavings and more cherries.
A bit of work
Pear Tarte Tatin
Pear Tarte Tatin from France.
Medium
Crème brûlée
Vanilla custard baked gently in shallow dishes, chilled hard, then topped with a thin sheet of sugar burned to amber glass.
Medium