I’ve always preferred eating cherries fresh, but this cherry clafoutis convinced me that they are delicious baked as well. When I worked at Williams Sonoma, we hosted a special dinner at Chef Dominique Crenn’s now-closed Petit Crenn in San Francisco. The menu was full of French classics like salade nicoise, ratatouille, and finished with a cherry clafoutis that I still remember to this day. The dinner was 6 years ago. I dug a giant spoon into the warm dish, revealing a glorious custard-y bake, dotted with the largest Bing cherries I had ever seen.
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I use this recipe every summer, and it takes me back to that fantastic meal. The jam on the bottom adds extra flavor and the creme fraiche gives the batter richness. You could easily swap for another fruit; I tried a fig clafoutis, though I still love the cherry version most. I bake the clafoutis in this 11″ oval gratin. I’ve seen clafoutis in a more shallow quiche dish, but prefer something with a bit more depth to dig a spoon into.
Cherry Clafoutis
By Chef Dominique Crenn / Petit Crenn
Adapted by Williams Sonoma
Ingredients
1/2 cup (2 oz./55 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (1 1/2 oz./50 g) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
1 cup (8 oz./230 g) crème fraîche
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 tablespoon vanilla paste
3 1/2 Tbs. heavy cream
1 Tbs. kirsch (cherry brandy)
Unsalted butter, at room temperature, for greasing
3 Tbs. cherry jam
18 Bing cherries, pitted and halved
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Ice cream, for serving
Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and flour. Set aside.
In a blender, combine the eggs, creme fraiche, vanilla, cream, kirsch and blend on low speed until smooth. Rain in the sugar flour mixture while blending until it is all combined. Alternatively, use a bowl with a whisk to combine the wet ingredients. Then whisk in the dry ingredients, until combined. Strain clafoutis batter and allow to rest overnight in the refrigerator.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Lightly butter the baking dish. Spread the jam in an even layer at the bottom. Arrange half the cherries over the jam. Stir clafoutis batter and pour into the dish. Arrange the remaining cherries on top of the batter.
Carefully transfer the dish to the preheated oven rack and bake for about 40-50 minutes, rotating to ensure even color. Batter should have puffed and set and appear matte on the outer edges.
Remove clafoutis from the oven. Switch oven to broiler setting. Dust confectioners’ sugar over the top of the clafoutis and broil the top to get even caramelization. Dust more confectioners’ sugar over the top and serve warm with your ice cream of choice.
Recipe re-printed from Dominique Crenn and Petit Crenn. Executed by Pastry Chef Christina Hanks.