Treat of the Week: A Lovely Clafoutis

If a Dutch Baby and a Flan went to France and got married, their offspring would be a clafoutis. The clafoutis, known in English-speaking countries as “clafouti,” is a French dessert baked in a buttered dish. The clafoutis usually features cherries smothered in a thick, custard-like batter. A traditional clafoutis includes the pits of the cherries as it is believed that the cherry pits offer a distinct flavor to the pastry. Without the pits, the clafoutis will have a mellower flavor.

As the clafoutis bakes, the custard rises above the fruit. The puffiness of the pastry fades as it cools. The dessert is served warm.

My mother’s version of the clafoutis includes dried cherries (sans the pits, thankfully) and sliced pears which have been fanned in the bottom of the dish before the batter is poured in. It’s a wonderful marriage between pancake and custard. Creamy, mildly-sweet and delightfully light, the clafoutis is the perfect Springtime dessert.

For clafoutis recipes, an online search will yield several options. Choose the one which most appeals to you. You can’t go wrong with any of them.