Cherry Clafoutis: Easy Peasy

Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free

Julia Child and many others have called the clafoutis a rustic peasant dish that is easy to make. Whenever I see the words rustic or peasant in a recipe, I’m hooked. Rustic usually means it ain’t fancy; if peasantry is involved, it means it isn’t complicated. Who has time to be fancy or complicated when one is just trying to get through the days usually working in the fields? Come on: we have to surmise that country folk did NOT invent laminated dough, for instance. Who would have the time?

Julia Child was right (of course). Clafoutis is so easy to make, and it’s delicious and beautiful. Like many so-called rustic desserts, the recipe is incredibly flexible. You can use almost any kind of fruit. I’ve always used cherries. If you can eat dairy and/or don’t like coconut milk, use cow milk or almond milk. If you like regular flour better than rice flour, use that. Or use oat flour. Try it with what you like. Mario and I don’t use any sweeteners when we make fruit desserts, but you know better what you like. Julia used 1/3 cup of sugar for her clafoutis. Most recipes use around that or 1/2 cup of some kind of sweetener.

I don’t know if they still do this but unpitted cherries were used in France because the pits gave the dish an almond flavor. I don’t know anyone who does that now. I use pitted frozen cherries. I let them thaw first and drain the liquid off before using.

If you’ve never made this before, you won’t believe how simple and beautiful it is. I actually like this better than pie.

Ingredients for a Gluten-free, Nut-free, Dairy-free Cherry Clafoutis

•454 grams of sweet organic pitted cherries (or enough to fill the bottom of the pan you’re using)

•4 large eggs (or if you’ve only got 3, use that many)

•228 grams (about a cup) simple full fat coconut milk (no guar gum if you can)

•40 grams brown rice flour (or whatever kind of flour you want, see next ingredient)

•25 grams potato starch (or tapioca, or arrowroot) If you’re using wheat flour or almond flour, use 65 grams total of your choice and skip the rice flour and starch.

•2-4 T of maple syrup (optional; use no sweetener or more or less of your preferred sweetener depending upon your sweet tooth)

•1 tsp pure vanilla extract

•pinch of salt

•coconut oil, olive oil, or butter to grease the dish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.

2. Oil your baking dish. I like using a cast iron skillet because it looks great, but anything 8 or 9 inches should work, including a pie plate.

3. Fill the bottom of your dish with the cherries.

   

4. Mix all the rest of the ingredients together using your beater, blender, or food processor. (If you don’t have any of these or don’t want to use any of these, use a whisk and just mix everything together and get it foamy. Julia Child suggests if you do it this way—by hand with a whisk—you might want to strain it through a sieve.)

5. When it’s blended well, pour it over the cherries. It’s like a runny pancake batter.

   

6. Bake until done. :-) Which means usually 35-40 minutes, until it sets and looks gorgeous. I always check the temperature, too. About 200° F is good.

   

7. Cool on a rack in the pan or eat warm. For dessert or breakfast. Serve naked (like we did) or with ice cream, yogurt, or powdered sugar.

   

   This writing and the photographs are wholly artisanal works of creation by Kim Antieau, a sentient being. It was all created with no input or assistance from artificial intelligence. © copyright Kim Antieau 2025.