Sour Cherry Clafoutis (Straight From Frozen)

↓ Jump to recipe

Clafoutis is the easiest impressive dessert there is: cherries in a buttered dish, a pancake-style batter poured over, and 45 minutes in the oven. It comes out puffed and golden, sinks a little as it cools, and is served warm with a dusting of icing sugar. Made with frozen sour cherries it is even simpler, because they come already pitted, and their sharpness cuts through the sweet custard better than sweet cherries do. The full recipe card is below; first, the things that make the difference.

Why sour cherries suit clafoutis

A traditional French clafoutis uses sweet cherries. Sour cherries give you a tangier, brighter dessert where every mouthful has a sharp pop of fruit against the soft, eggy batter. The only change you need is a little more sugar in the batter than a sweet-cherry recipe would use.

Harvestime Sour Cherries are pitted and individually quick-frozen, so they pour straight from the bag into the dish without clumping and without a cherry pitter in sight. One 1kg bag makes two clafoutis with cherries to spare.

Bake them from frozen

You do not need to thaw the cherries, and it is better if you don’t. Thawed cherries leak juice into the batter and turn the whole thing purple-grey. Straight from the freezer:

• Toss the frozen cherries with a tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of flour. The flour soaks up the juice as they thaw in the oven.
• Spread them in the buttered dish in a single layer.
• Allow the full 40-45 minutes. Frozen fruit takes a few minutes longer than fresh.

How to tell when it is done

The edges should be puffed and golden brown, and the centre set with only a slight wobble when you nudge the dish. A knife pushed into the middle should come out without liquid batter on it. It will sink as it cools. That is normal and is part of what a clafoutis looks like.

Why is my clafoutis rubbery or soggy?

• Rubbery: the batter was overmixed or it baked too long. Whisk only until smooth, and take it out while the centre still has a slight wobble.
• Soggy or wet underneath: the cherries were thawed first, or the dish was too deep. Use them frozen and choose a dish about 23-24cm wide, so the batter is no more than 3-4cm deep.
• Grey-purple batter: the cherry juice bled in. Again, frozen fruit and a light dusting of flour fix it.

The batter

The batter is close to a crêpe batter: eggs, sugar, plain flour, milk, a little melted butter and vanilla. Whole milk gives the creamiest result. Barambah Organics Full Cream Milk works well here. You can blend everything in a blender for 20 seconds instead of whisking, which also guarantees there are no lumps of flour.

Serving and variations

• Serve warm, not hot, about 15 minutes out of the oven, dusted with icing sugar. Cream or vanilla ice cream on the side.
• Almond: swap a quarter of the flour for almond meal and add a drop of almond essence. Cherry and almond is a classic pairing.
• Mixed fruit: use half sour cherries and half frozen raspberries or blackberries.
• Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for two days. Eat them cold, or warm a slice for 20 seconds in the microwave.

Sour cherries have far more uses than baking. Our guide to sweet vs sour cherries explains when to use each, and 7 recipes for a 1kg bag of sour cherries covers pie, crumble, jam and more.

Frequently asked questions

How do you pronounce clafoutis?

“Kla-foo-tee”. It comes from the Limousin region of France.

Can I use sweet cherries instead?

Yes. Use the same weight of cherries and reduce the sugar in the batter by about a quarter.

Can I make it ahead?

You can mix the batter up to a day ahead and keep it in the fridge. Whisk it again before pouring. The clafoutis itself is best baked on the day and eaten warm.

Can I make it gluten free?

Replace the plain flour with the same weight of a gluten-free plain flour blend, or with almond meal for a denser, richer texture.