I am well aware that cherry season has passed but looking though Steve’s catalogue of photographs of my cooking forays, we found these glorious cherry photos along with some remnants of the dessert I love made with them.  I just had to share the photos so, in the middle of fall, we are going to have a hint of early summer.  Don’t worry, you can also make the dessert with other fruits in the months ahead.

Once upon a time I asked a French friend what she thought was the homiest of all French desserts and, without thinking, she said “clafoutis.”  At the time I don’t think that I had ever tasted this dessert but, being a lover of nursery desserts I’m sure that I immediately hunted down a recipe and took a stab at this traditional French country dessert.  It was my idea of dessert heaven and it quickly became one of my favorite “go-tos” when longing for a simple sweet.

The main ingredient in the traditional Limoisin recipe is black cherries complete with their pits.  Folk lore says that leaving the pits in enhances the flavor during baking.  Being all too familiar with the dentist’s chair and the cost thereof, I choose to take on the arduous task of pitting the little gems and have not found the flavor to any less deep and rich.

After making clafoutis for years (only in the early summer when the market was lush with ripe, juicy Bing cherries) I somehow let it slip by the wayside.  This past spring, researching something that I’ve now forgotten, I was reminded of my old favorite.  Once again clafoutis became a frequent dessert, perhaps because, this year, cherries were so abundant and relatively inexpensive to boot.  And, once cherries disappeared I began using other fruits and berries – soft, ripe plums and berries, wild and tame – and now I’m looking forward to using juicy pears.  I have even been thinking about making one with cranberries for the holidays. And, what about some prunes (or proomes as you know we call them) soaked in Armagnac?  Only recently did I learn that when made with fruit other than cherries, a clafoutis is called a flaugnarde.  Whatever it is called, I call it delicious!

1½ pounds ripe Bing cherries, pitted

¾ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Zest of 1 lemon

3 large eggs, separated

Pinch salt

¼ cup Wondra flour (or sifted all-purpose flour)

¼ cup heavy cream, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

A couple of tablespoons confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Place the cherries in a shallow baking dish (either round or a 9- to 10-inch rectangle).  Add ½ cup of the sugar along with the melted butter, tossing to mix.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes or just until the cherries begin to soften.  Remove from the oven, stir in lemon zest, and set aside.  Do not turn the oven off.

Combine the egg yolks with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar and a pinch of salt in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle.  Beat on low to blend; then, raise the speed and beat for about 4 minutes or until light and airy.  Add the cream, flour, and vanilla and beat to blend.  Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer and set aside.

Using a hand held electric mixer (unless you’re a glutton for punishment and want to beat the egg whites with a whisk in a copper bowl), beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.  Carefully fold the beaten egg whites into the egg batter, folding until just barely blended.

Pour the batter over the warm cherries.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the top has puffed up and is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.  Serve warm.