Thursday, July 16, 2009

Sour Cherry Clafoutis... so you don't have to.

Clafoutis seem to be everywhere this year. I finally broke down and made a whole-wheat version because I had these lovely sour cherries from the farmers' market, and I'd never had fresh sour cherries before, and every time I see a recipe for clafoutis it references the traditional Limousin Clafoutis using unpitted sour cherries.
It baked beautifully... but here's the thing: If you don't really know what to expect when some call it "custard-like" and others call it a "pancake dessert," what they mean is it's like a German pancake [which an Americanized apple kuchen]. I've never loved German pancakes, and it turns out I'm not a huge clafoutis fan either. It looks like it's going to be crunchy-crusty on top but texture's just... meh. The picture below isn't out of focus, the center is really... indistinct. I mean, it was fine and I'll slather the leftovers in maple syrup and call it breakfast, but it felt like a waste of my precious sour cherries.
Recipe: Whole-Wheat Sour Cherry Clafoutis for German Pancake Lovers
You can substitute spelt for a gluten-free clafoutis.

1 cup whole-wheat flour [or spelt]
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sugar (plus 1 teaspon for sprinkling over top)2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla or amaretto
2 cups cherries, whole
powdered sugar, to serve [I was out]

Preheat oven to 400F. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl then stir into the dry. Don't overmix, some lumps are okay. Pour into cake pan or skillet, drop fruit over the top and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake 35-40 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

2 comments:

  1. I thought it tasted good.

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  2. Just guessing, but....What happened to the eggs? For all I know you definitely need eggs as a basic ingredient for Clafoutis. Without them it's just some wet sweat bread...

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