The name alone has always been intriguing… something I can recall easily, that conjures up holidays spent lazily in some Parisian cafe (not that I do that much at all)… Clafoutis or clafouti — it could be a kind of bacteria for all I knew, except that it is such a simple and stunning looking dessert, superb when done right, and with intensely flavorful fresh black cherries. I can tell you sweet juicy golden Rainiers don’t seem to work well in a clafouti, but it was worth a try… :)
A hot custardy, eggy mixture similar to a thick crepe, studded with cherries is the classic incarnation… though adding raspberries, blackberries or even peaches and I suppose even mangoes would work. This is typically served for breakfast but for some reason eventually went on as a favorite dessert at Parisian cafes or restaurants, often serving the tourist market.
To make, use any of the simple recipes on the net, I used this one from joyofbaking.com, with just a few minor alterations to reflect the ingredients I had on hand, and while it turned out reasonably well, the dessert wasn’t a stunner… We undercooked this just a bit, but it tasted okay. I left the pits in the cherries, as they do traditionally in France, to enhance the flavor of the clafoutis, and as an added arte move left the stems on as well, hoping to replicate one of the snazzy photos I once saw of a clafoutis where the stems were all jutting out of the dessert — well I can tell you they fall on their side and sink into the batter — unless you put the cherries in when the batter has set a bit. Sprinkle your clafoutis with powdered sugar just before serving. Take care not to pop an entire cherry into your mouth and bite into an exploding “grenade” of molten sweet liquid… :)
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Looks heavenly… I bet the taste does not stray far from it’s appearance. You do wake up at the earliest of hours MM! 5AM? :)
they say clafoutis is the universal solvent of fruit :) i always make one when i have an abundance. goes quickly!
Looks AWESOME!!!!
My oh my!
Looks so good! And I love the grenade analogy ;)
Agree, even if you did it absolutely right, clafoutis does not quite live up to its reputation. The taste for it probably has to be acquired early in life for it to be meaningful at all to anyone and I suppose it is simply that way with a lot of much vaunted food specialties that make you wonder what the fuss was all about once you finally taste it. Or it just might be suffering from over-expectation on our part since it is after all a rustic dessert made with pancake batter poured over fresh fruit and baked.
A similar type of dessert though infinitely better is Reuben’s Apple Pancake. Meanwhile, your precious Rainier cherries can be better put to use pitted and macerated in kirschwasser or Cherry Marnier and poured into a crisp meringue vessel and then topped with whipped cream perfumed with more kirsch.
Woah, I certainly won’t pop THOSE hot cherries…and i’ll certainly try making it
Wow, I hope I can have this today because it’s my birthday! :-)
it’s a visual stunner even without the stems!
Anne, Happy Birthday! Ron, use tarter or darker red cherries. Footloose, yup, this is one of those dishes that you need a history with, like growing up on a cherry farm or something… tonceq, yup, I am an early riser… :)
Thanks MM! I’m so happy you greeted me….it made my day! :-)
If you still have some cherries leftover MM…soak them in rum or spiced wine. If I don’t forget early in the summer to start with cherries in making RUMTOPF, I have enough garapon to last me thru the winter and give them away in nice little jars to dear friends for Christmas…..a good way too to use summer fruits as they come in season…..just add them in the garapon….cherries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, nectarines, peaches, lastly plums.
Zoi…found MANILA MANGOES in Victoria Drive!!!!…not to be confused with the Ataulfo ones….this one is lemon yellow when ready to eat much like our Pinoy mangoes…tasted a ripe one and it tasted and smelled EXACTLY as I remember our mangoes! The store owner said they are grown in Mexico.
Kind of sad in a way, Manila mangoes grown in Mexico while we can’t export our own to North America, and Manila clams grown in the waters off of Vancouver to boot, also sold across North America as such, while in Manila, one would be crazy to think of eating a real clam out of Manila Bay. Then there are the Manila envelopes, no longer made in Manila for the most part, and well, Manila hemp, that is actually made in Bicol, not Manila… :)
MM, for some reason I look forward to “learning” posts like this when you write about what didn’t work out the way you wanted. I was wondering why you left the stems on & actually grinned at your admission that you were trying to replicate a certain look. I find that bit of consternation endearing, hehe.
Happy Birthday Anne :-)
Yum!
I have wonderful childhood memories of my French dad making this for me! But he used darker cherries. Anyways, thanks for this post Mr. MM! :)
My cousin lived with a French family and when she made clafouti it did include pits and stems too. She used the dark red cherries. I guess it is the rustic-style.
I am so hungry looking at the pictures –
Went back to your store MM and got chicharon – sent them to a friend in Manila and she was over the moon –
Hope to see you again when I go back..your Iba shake is sooo addicting…
More power!
Hi MM, months ago, my hubby was gifted by a Greek colleague with clafoutis so I assumed it was of Greek origins. French pala? Anyway, hers had no stems.. I wouldn’t crave for it but it had an interesting aftertaste. I wonder if the kind of cherry used made a difference. We’re off to Paris next month so I will check out the Parisian cafes’ version..
i’ve seen this recipe at juior masterchef australia’s master class.. it may lack the vibrant red colour but looking at the photos it sure does look yummy…
BettyQ, nice to see your name on the posts…Here in Houston, we have an abundant of red cherries as well as rainier.. and almost everyday, I snack on them knowing it will be a short while that it will be gone. I love cherries.
I do have a lot of pickling jar/bottles. So does this pickling of these cherries makes them sour? Is there any other way to preserve the cherries so that I will have them in my cooler when the season is over?
EbbaBlue…try the Rumtopf! Pag hindi ko nakalimutan umpisahan pag cherry season which signals the start of summer iyong Rumtopf, malaking pasasalamat ng mga recipients pag PASKO! BUt often, I cannot wait till the holidays to eat them. If you are like me, just replenish the garapon with the fruits soaking in spiced rum with more fruits as they come in season……come winter, while you are eating them with vanilla ice cream or Greek yoghurt, you will be tempted to save them when you go to Pinas in May!
Oooh, I make cherry clafoutis at home! I forget where I copied the recipe from; it’s been so long since I first read about it and tried out a recipe. I use bing and sour cherries. Even bought a cherry pitter for my kitchen! lol
yes, Betty q. really nice to see you again. So, do you make your own spiced wine or purchase in a store? Anyway, these tips will be copied and saved in my precious USB storage device bago dumagdag ng ibang topic si MM making it very hard to go through all the comments. Maraming salamat….
Ms. Betty q., favor pls, can i request for the rumtopf recipe? i’ll try to make some bottles to bring home to Manila. Salamat po
Since you mentioned clams, the specie of the clams (manila clams) used in Italy (north predominantly) for spaghetti/linguine alle vongole comes from the Philippines “Tapes philippinarum” locally bred and farmed in Chioggia (near Venice). Dilis is also being introduced into the local Italian market – I even had this at the University canteen once.
I made plenty of cherry clafoutis in late June and early July with unpitted sour cherries and the sour fruit was good with the sweet flan- no flour. Just eggs, sugar, creme fraiche, heavy cream and vanilla. Rainier cherries are too insipid. Some pastry shops in France (notably Le Notre) make it with a pastry base. Your clafoutis looks pretty good, next time try it with sour cherries although dark Bing cherries are pretty traditional in Limousin where this dish originated.
Thanks BettyQ. I found cherries at Divisoria last year I went Pinas. Didn’t bother to check how much they were kasi iba ang focus kong bilhin, also ang init-init na kaya nagmamadali ako. Here in Houston, medio patapos na yata ang season, although matamis pa rin ang mga ibinebenta, ang mahal na ng red varieties, also, hindi ka na maka-pamili, naka-tight plastic wrapped ang mga ito; eh sometimes mayrong “bulok” na naka-sama, so ayun malambot na rin yung iba.
Andrea…I will just go to my in-laws to get the rest of my tampipi of recipes tucked in someone’s house. It isn’t in my Tupperware here at home!
But if you are in a hurry, there are recipes on the web. I like to infuse lemon and orange rind without the white pith in the garapon. Add also a few cloves (only a few or it will taste and smell like a pharmacy! Though it has a lot of fruits in the garapon, it isn’t for diabetics! You might want to bring 2 garapons when you go back home. If you have also a neighbour who do not know what to do with those small apple pears the size of golf balls, ask for them. Peel, core and LIGHTLY POACH in white wine with citrus peel and cinnamon bark and sugar. If they are tiny, peel but leave them whole with a bit of the stem. Clean the stem making sure they are no BUGS. After poaching…Cool and add it last it last to the garapon. At any rate, pears are fall fruits so they will be the last to go in the garapon together with plums.
Now, before you eat it…add a SPLASH of GRAND MARNIER to your dessert bowl of RUMTOPF…yum, yum, yum!!!!!
Oh…the blackberies….I prefer to do them in a separate bottle for as your stir the mixture of fruits every now and then GENTLY as you add more fruits, the blacks might turn it like a merlot. So, when you are ready to give it away, add a few rum or brandy soaked blackberries in each of the jars you are giving away!
Rainier cherries worked fine for me in a clafouti as long as I add enough amaretto (1 Tbsp). They are milder than the dark cherries for sure.