Sour Cherry Clafouti

Sour cherries, sometimes called pie cherries, have a very short season (late June into July), and we race to pick them before the birds do, so we can whip up this traditional French country dessert­–a cross between a tart and a pancake. If you miss the fresh sour cherry season, you can get water or syrup-packed sour cherries in jars (drain before using).

Sour Cherry Clafouti
Prep Time: 15m
Cook Time: 45m

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 ¼ pounds sour cherries, pitted
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon kirsch (cherry brandy) or 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Use the butter to grease a 9-inch pie plate.

Place the cherries in the pie plate. Put the flour in a large bowl. Whisk the milk into the flour until smooth, then whisk in the cream, 1/3 cup of sugar, the kirsch, and the eggs until well combined. Pour the batter over the cherries. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and bake for 45 minutes, or until set. Let cool slightly on a rack and serve warm. (The clafouti will fall as it cools.)

Variation

Substitute sweet cherries for the sour cherries and reduce the sugar to ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons.

This recipe can be found in our Beekman 1802 Heirloom Dessert Cookbook.