Clafoutis always bring back my memories of childhood in Provence. In the morning, my sister and I would go pick fresh cherries from the garden, and then help my mum core them. In the afternoon, for the “goûter” we would enjoy a slice (or two) of freshly baked clafoutis.

I have let the cherries to marinate for 1 hour in Chambord, a french raspberry liqueur that gives a wonderful twist to the traditional recipe. And I do not sprinkle my fruit cake with sugar, which I found, is sweet enough with the help of the liqueur.

I also use good quality salted butter from the farmers market. Salted butter is my favourite, but you can substitute with unsalted if you prefer. Just add a pinch of salt to the recipe.

Happy cooking!

Clafouti is the most simple cake and pure summer comfort food, like a twist between a flan and a cake, slightly chewy.

Makes: 3 small clafoutis or 1 cake

Ingredients:

500 g cherries
4 medium eggs
30g salted butter
200 ml milk
100g sifted plain flour
50g granulated sugar
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
1 ½ tbsp Chambord liqueur
Extra butter for lining the cake pan

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C

1- Prepare the cherries: Rinse cherries and pat them dry. Remove the pits and let the cherries macerate for 1 hour in Chambord liqueur.

2- Prepare the dish: Butter a cake pan. Drain the cherries (keep the liqueur for the next step) and place them in the bottom of the dish.

3- Make the clafoutis: Melt the butter in a small pan and cook to a beurre noisette over low to medium heat. The butter should be hazelnut colour, but not burnt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, caster sugar and vanilla together until creamy. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly incorporate the milk, Chambord liqueur and beurre noisette to the mixture. Mix until you get a smooth batter.

Pour batter on top of cherries.

4- Cook the clafoutis: Bake until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 25 to 40 minutes (depending on the size of the dish).

Serve warm or cold.

CHERRY CLAFOUTIS