CHERRY CLAFOUTIS

With cherries still on the trees in the backyard, I decided to try a new dessert recipe.  A clafoutis is of French origin and originates from the Limousin region of France.  It is a baked dessert that traditionally uses black cherries that are not pitted.  The cherries are placed on the bottom of a baking dish and the flan like batter is poured over.  A final dusting of sugar is sprinkled over the batter before baking.  I like to pit the cherries before baking with them and did so with this recipe.

The batter is based on a crepe batter and has more eggs and less flour than a cake batter.  Other fruit besides cherries could be used.   I was in a hurry making this recipe and I forgot to add the milk.  It still tasted good.  Since I used a heaping 4 cups of pitted sour cherries, I added another egg and a bit more flour.   Instead of sugar I used splenda.  I baked the dessert in the oven using the convection option so I baked it for 40 minutes and I reduced the oven temperature to 350 degrees F for the last five minutes.  The DH thought this clafoutis was delicious even without the milk in the batter. 

Ready to go into the oven.  I sprinkled some splenda on top of the batter before put the dish in the oven.

Just out of the oven.  You can see the white specks from the splenda on top of the cooked batter.  

Cherry Clafoutis

INGREDIENTS:

1 ¼ pounds (about 4 cups pitted) sweet cherries

3 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp almond extract

½ cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/3 cup whole or lowfat milk

Softened butter, for greasing the baking dish.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.   Smear a 2-quart shallow baking dish liberally with butter.   Lay the cherries in the bottom of the baking dish.

In a standard blender, or using an immersion blender in a bowl or a mixmaster, mix the eggs, flour, vanilla and almond extracts, ½ cup sugar, and milk together until smooth.

Pour the batter over the cherries and sprinkle the fruit and batter with the 3 tablespoons of sugar.  Bake the clafoutis until the batter is just set for about 45 minutes.

Serve warm or cold.  Makes eight servings.

Recipe adapted from www.davidlebovitz.com