Did you know cherry season is in full throttle right now and until the end of July? It’s time to go out and buy them at the store for cheap… Cause y’all know that when they’re out of season they can get super pricy! In the past, I've tried to buy some during the winter (they always look so good!!!) and when I got to the cash register the price tag came up to 17$ for a little bag… Needless to say I asked for a refund right away. I’m a sucker for fruits and veggies and rarely refuse to buy them because of a price tag but that was just way beyond reasonable… and I try to be reasonable (although sometimes I fail!).
Anyways, a super nice thing to make with cherries is a Clafouti! Clafouti is a custardy French dessert, which is pretty close to a flan (i.e. made with many eggs!). It’s super easy to make, looks fabulous and you serve it lukewarm. It’s absolutely delicious and not too sweet. The hardest part of making this dessert is actually pitting the cherries! But if you’ve got a few extra minutes to spare, it’s super cool to make. It took me an extra 10 minutes for this quantity and then 5 more to prepare the custard. That's a total of 15 minutes. Not too demanding, even on a weeknight! If you’re too lazy, you can always try with frozen cherries but the result won't be the same.
If you read this and cherry season is over, you can make your clafouti with blueberries. They'll be in season in August!
Cherry Clafouti Serve 6 to 8 people
Level: CHEF
INGREDIENTS
3 cups of fresh pitted cherries (500g)
4 la eggs
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp sugar
¾ cup milk
½ cup 10% cream
2/3 cup flour
Pinch of salt
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
PREPARATION
Preheat your oven at 350˚F.
Grease a 10-inches round baking dish with butter and sprinkle with 1 tbsp of sugar.
Mix all the ingredients but the cherries in a large bowl with a whip for about 2 minutes (work those arms!). Let the batter rest for about half an hour.
During that time, pit the cherries one by one (!) and place them nicely at the bottom of the baking dish. Pour the batter on top of them and put in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until puffy and golden.
Take out and let rest for 5 minutes. Dust with the icing sugar and serve lukewarm. You can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you like!
