It’s that time of the year. The supermarkets are overflowing with fresh summer cherries and you’ve probably bought way more cherries than what you could possibly eat. So it’s time to put some of them to good use and make this beautiful French Cherry Clafoutis!

Now that 4th of July is in the past, it is time to focus on the next big food holiday: Bastille Day. ?? The perfect excuse to dust off your French cookbook (or visit international cuisine blogs, like yours truly!) and prepare all those amazing dishes that are so hard to pronounce.

So let’s get the hard to pronounce part out of the way and learn to pronounce clafoutis: klah/foo/tee. Great! Congratulations. Awesome pronunciation! ?

And the best thing about this funnily named dish? It is very easy to make and you get to use your blender. I mean, I’m sure Julia Child would prefer you worked your good old muscles by doing it by hand, with a whisk. But I’m a millennial, darling Julia, so I like to use technology whenever I can. Not to mention, I need to justify all my kitchenware shopping addiction to my husband. Or else he’s going to start realizing that we do not need to have two blenders in the house…

So, yeah… Use your blender! Or make it by hand, if you prefer. All that matters is: make this delicious Cherry Clafoutis ASAP, cause cherry season won’t be around for long!

If you’ve never eaten a clafoutis before, it is a creamy, custard-based French dessert filled with fresh fruits, or in our case, cherries.

It is typically served as dessert, but I like it better for brunch. Or, if I’d really like to serve it as dessert, I’d make sure to add some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top. It just isn’t dessert-y enough as is, at least for me.

Oh man! I think Julia Child would eat me alive right now, a la The Devil Wears Prada. (Wait! Wrong Meryl Streep movie! ?)

But I stand by my opinion. I think a Cherry Clafoutis is always a great addition to my brunch table! And the fact that it is so easy to make means it’s as easy as whipping up some pancakes.

Now, as equipped as my kitchen is, there is one gadget I do not own: a cherry pitter (which is good for olives too). I will be acquiring one soon, because pitting all these cherries with a knife wasn’t fun.

Ok, it wasn’t THAT bad. I just tend to be a little dramatic (and impatient)! But I highly recommend using the gadget, if you have one.

Or, you could go the traditional way and not pit the cherries. I am not a fan of going to the dentist, so – even though I am VERY lazy – I prefer to go through the ordeal of pitting them than risking a broken tooth.

If you happened to find this post after cherry season is long gone, do not fret! You can use any other fruits, like berries, plums, pears, figs and apples.

I think if you make a clafoutis with something other than cherries, the proper name is Flaugnarde. Don’t quote me on that, though! I haven’t even been to France. Most of this deep knowledge that you see at Olivia’s Cuisine is fruit of great research. Some call it Google! ???

Whatever you do, do not over bake your Cherry Clafoutis. You want it to be melting in your mouth creamy, so once the custard is just set and a toothpick (or knife) emerge relatively (not totally!) clean, your clafoutis is ready! I did over bake mine a touch, but it was still delicious. But I would have preferred it a bit creamier.

So whether for brunch, dessert or Bastille Day picnic, I hope you guys give this a try! And stay tuned for some more French recipes coming soon.

Bon appetit!

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Cherry Clafoutis (Clafoutis aux Cerises)

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon kirsch liquor (optional)
• Zest one lemon
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups black cherries, pitted and halved
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Butter and lightly flour a 9-inch round pie dish or cast iron pan. Reserve.

In your blender jar, combine the eggs, sugar, salt, milk, lemon zest, kirsch (if using) and vanilla extract. Blend just until combined. Add the flour and blend again, just until combined and smooth. Finally, add the melted butter and pulse a few times to incorporate into the batter. (You can mix the ingredients by hand, if you don't have a blender.)

Pour the batter into the prepared dish. Top with the cherry halves, placing them cut side up.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to one hour or until the custard is just set. A knife poked in the center should emerge relatively clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly.

When ready to serve, dust with powdered sugar. You can serve the clafoutis warm, at room temperature or cold. If serving as dessert, some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream is not traditional, but oh so delicious! :)

For this recipe, I recommend:

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