Fruit Clafoutis (Baked Custard with Fresh Fruit)
Quick answer
Clafoutis is a rustic French baked dessert that suspends fresh seasonal fruit in a thin custard batter and bakes it until the edges puff golden and the center sets to a silky cream.
What makes this special
- Fresh seasonal fruit suspends in a thin custard batter that puffs at the edges and sets silky at center.
- Traditional unpitted cherries release a subtle almond note from the stone
- Crêpe-thin batter puffs at the edges while the center stays custardy
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the baking dish evenly with 20 g butter, th...
- 2 Place 3 eggs and 70 g sugar in a bowl and whisk just until the sugar grains...
- 3 Add 250 ml milk gradually while whisking.
Clafoutis is a rustic French baked dessert that suspends fresh seasonal fruit in a thin custard batter and bakes it until the edges puff golden and the center sets to a silky cream. The batter, close to crepe batter in consistency, is made from eggs, milk, flour, and sugar whisked until smooth. Traditionally, unpitted cherries are used because the pits release a faint almond-like fragrance during baking that deepens the overall flavor. Strawberries, blueberries, and plums work equally well, their juices concentrating in the oven heat and creating pockets of intense sweetness against the mild custard. Because the method is little more than mixing and pouring, it requires no special technique. Served warm with a dusting of powdered sugar, the contrast between the crisp rim and the soft interior is what makes this dessert memorable.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Step
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Grease the baking dish evenly with 20 g butter, then arrange 250 g cherries or plums in a single layer after removing excess moisture from the fruit.
- 2Season
Place 3 eggs and 70 g sugar in a bowl and whisk just until the sugar grains mostly dissolve and the mixture looks slightly lighter.
Avoid whipping in too much air, which can make the custard rise unevenly.
- 3Step
Add 250 ml milk gradually while whisking.
Sift in 80 g all-purpose flour, then whisk from the center outward until the batter is thin and smooth with no dry pockets or visible lumps.
- 4Heat
Pour the batter slowly over the fruit, leaving some pieces partly visible so the top bakes attractively.
Tap the dish gently on the counter to release large air bubbles before it goes into the oven.
- 5Heat
Bake on the middle rack at 180C and start checking after 30 minutes.
It is ready when the edges are puffed and golden while the center still gives a gentle wobble like soft custard.
- 6Finish
Bake for about 35 minutes total, but remove it before the center becomes firm and dry.
Let it rest for 10 minutes so the puffed edges settle, then serve while still warm.
After the steps
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Continue with shared ingredients, meal pairings, or a similar method.
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Clafoutis (French Baked Cherry Custard Dessert)
Clafoutis is a traditional French dessert from the Limousin region made by arranging fresh cherries in a buttered baking dish, then pouring over a thin batter of eggs, sugar, milk, and flour and baking at 180 degrees Celsius for thirty to thirty-five minutes. The batter is considerably thinner than pancake batter, and the result when baked is a texture that sits between a creamy custard and a light sponge -- the edges puff and turn golden while the center around the cherries stays moist and yielding. Using unpitted cherries is the traditional method: the pits release a faint almond scent during baking that perfumes the surrounding batter in a way that pitted fruit cannot replicate. The cherries also hold their shape better with the pits in. Vanilla extract deepens the egg-and-milk base, and the cherries' own tart juice seeps into the batter during baking, creating concentrated pockets of fruit flavor that balance the overall sweetness. Clafoutis is served directly from the baking dish, typically dusted with powdered sugar and brought to the table while still warm, because the custard texture softens and loosens slightly as it cools, making the warm version noticeably more appealing. Made with blueberries, plums, or apricots instead of cherries, the dessert takes a different name -- flaugnarde -- though the technique remains identical.
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