It's cherry time in Paris and the farmers markets are overflowing with them – Yipppeee!!! I love to eat cherries just about anyway possible, but the dessert cherry clafoutis or clafoutis aux cerise, is one of my favorites.
It shows off the fruit without too much sugar and it's easy to prepare for a crowd. We're serving this at Guy Savoy right now in Paris and people can't get enough of it. The real trick is to start with good quality firm, juicy, meaty cherries.
Traditionally the pit is left in the fruit. This is supposed to give flavor and it also makes the prep time shorter (double yippeee!). It keeps the cake-like batter from turning pink too. You can pit them if you're afraid of cracking a tooth, but half the fun is spitting out the seeds.
I often substitute apricots or other stone fruit when in season. At Guy Savoy we adust the copper pan to the size of the table and present it whole. A waiter scoops it out at the table for the diners.
Guy Savoy's Cherry Clafoutis
400g / 1lb cherries
15 ml / 1 tablesppon kirsch
15 ml / 1 tbsp icing sugar
45 g / 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
30 g / 3 Tablespoon flour
170 ml / 3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 lemon rind grated Nutmeg (optional)
Mix cherries with kirsh and icing sugar and let sit for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 190 C/ 375 F. Butter an 11-12 inch oval dish or a shallow pan. Sift flour and add sugar together. Whisk in milk until smooth. Whisk eggs, vanilla, lemon rind, and nutmeg.
Pack cherries on bottom of oval dish and pour batter over. Bake for 45 min or until set. Insert knife into center, if it comes out clean it is done. Serve warm in dish! Note: sometimes I substitute half of the flour for almond powder because I like cherry and almonds together.