cherry almond clafoutis

I remember as a little girl the cherry tree that hung over the fence in my paternal grandparents backyard. It was the neighbor's tree, but they weren't necessarily the best at keeping it pruned. It draped partially over the garage roof and sometimes hung just low enough over the fence for us to snatch a few as we were playing.

I can't remember what type of cherry they were, but I have a vague recollection of picking them and being very happy to do so. Proud of my dark stained fingers.

I still enjoy cherries, but usually have little of the patience required to pit them. They are indeed delicious though, and their siren call is hard to ignore when they appear at the market each season.

Although I prefer cherries best eaten out of hand, this is a perfect recipe for those moments when you realize you have just too many on hand to eat raw. It's not too sweet, which I enjoy. It goes deliciously with vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Almond Clafoutis

adapted from Fine Cooking

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 lb. fresh cherries, pitted

1 cup nonfat milk

3 oz flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup heavy cream

3 eggs

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Pinch kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350º

Toast the almonds on a baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, watching constantly. Increase oven temp to 400º. Grease a 9x12 baking dish (or thereabouts) with the melted butter. Put the cherries in the baking dish. Set aside. Whisk together the milk, flour, sugar, cream, eggs, almond extract, and salt. Whip as much air into the batter as possible. Pour the batter over the cherries and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and bake for a further 35 minutes or until a tester comes out clean/internal temp is 205º. Serve warm or at room temperature. Particularly good with vanilla ice cream.

 

Comments

[katie]

So I made a a cherry clafoutis with brown butter but yours looks so much better! (And the best way to eat fresh cherries is inside a PIE)

[TA Away]

the best way to eat fresh cherries is inside a PIE -- CONFIRMED

[Robin]

Well when I get the patience to once again deal with pie dough I'll try out Katie's recipe for cherry pie. Until then I will continue to be lazy and make clafoutis.