If you are lucky enough to come across some fresh cherries, I suggest that you scoop them up quick! I love cherries and try to bake a few treats each season for my guys. Recently my husband brought the family a giant bag of cherries. I have to admit, a 5-pound bag of cherries has its appeal, but I would prefer a 2-pound bag of PITTED cherries. Not that I don’t enjoy my time doing prep work in the kitchen, but for some reason pitting cherries is about as fun as after-vacation laundry in my book. So I gave the kids a job. After they were finished I had about 2 cups of cherries left, plenty for one of my favorite quick desserts. Clafouti is fun, easy, and can be made with any fruit. It resembles a bread pudding to me in texture, but is warm and homey. A giant hug of a dessert. Enjoy!
Cherry Clafouti
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup almonds
4 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
a little grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
To get ready, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Butter a shallow 1½ quart baking dish; use glass or ceramic. Toss cherries in a small bowl with corn starch and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Arrange the cherries in the baking dish. In a blender or food processor blend flour and almonds until nuts are nicely chopped. Whisk eggs, salt, and sugar in bowl to blend. Whisk in the flour mixture, and add the milk, peel, and extracts until smooth. Pour custard mixture over cherries.
Bake clafouti until center is set and golden, about 40 minutes. Slightly cool before sprinkling powdered sugar over the top. Enjoy warm.
Andrea Charroin was a trained baker and pastry chef in San Francisco before she and her family moved to Redding 11 years ago. After falling in love with Redding’s downtown, Andrea and husband Westley opened a little pastry shop, Rene-Joule Patisserie, across from the Cascade Theatre. For the three years Rene-Joule was in business, it was renowned for making everything from scratch, using the best ingredients and keeping with a seasonal menu. To this day, Andrea is asked about her Marathon Bars, Orange Twists and sourdough bread.
Copyright 2009 Andrea R. Charroin. Visit her blog at bakerslove.typepad.com
