Thursday, July 17, 2014

Cherry ripe………….


Happen to have a glut of fresh, ripe cherries hanging about your kitchen?
They are in season and beautiful Washington State is sharing their 
harvest with us.
Thank you very much Yakima Valley cherry orchards.


 Lovely stone fruits to eat fresh off the stem of course, especially that golden Rainier
variety (named after the awesome mountain), although they are a bit pricey for cooking. 

Cooking?  Yes, time to bake a French clafouti, the traditional cherry dessert often also
eaten as a breakfast dish, similar to a big puffy pancake, but much better.


Here's my clafouti from last Sunday evening, enjoyed al fresco in the gazebo - after a bowl of
icy Vichyssoise and a salad - and still warm for a delicious dessert.  It was a very hot evening.
Finished Monday morning for breakfast at room temperature, with a spoonful of Greek yogurt.
I added two tablespoons of brandy to this version which gave it a really posh flavor.
Note the baby pot - I had too much batter for the large dish.  For a company dessert
I might consider using individual ramekins like these - I like that rustic look of cherry juice
around the rim.

Easy to make - I follow Ina Garten's (Barefoot in Paris) recipe for pear clafouti which is a
straightforward and quick batter, but used deep red Bing cherries. 
Needless to say, a cherry pitter comes in very handy, a small but necessary kitchen item.
Although the classic French version doesn't pit the fruits, saying the flavor is better, hubby
and I value our teeth too much to be that authentic!
Ina's recipe switching to pears is excellent too, and a prune plum version can be really yummy.
As I always say, any dessert with fresh fruit has to be healthy!

Have you baked a French clafouti?
Traditional cherry, or have you tried other fruits?
Any tips you'd like to share with us would be fun.


7 comments:

  1. That looks so good Mary! I need to go out and get some cherries! I have Ina's book. Your vichyssoise sounds wonderful too!

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  2. Yes, I love clafouti; however, I have never tried cherries and that's something that I may soon have to remedy. What a beautiful photo, Mary!

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  3. Oh yum. A cherry clafoutis is on my horizon this week. I'm going to treat myself after a week of no desserts. I can't remember where my recipe came from. Your photos are beautiful.
    Our cherries come from the Okanagan Valley, just north of the border of Yakima.

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  4. I never have but I would like to try that. I love your brown transfer-ware dish and the beautiful bowl in the first photo. Gorgeous.

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  5. I have baked a traditional cherry one that was amazingly delicious, but oh so full of cream.
    We have had enough cherries since the year I made it to make more. Store bought cherries
    go in the mouth quite quickly, as I just adore eating them fresh. Now I must run to the store
    for cherries, you had made me hungry for them. They are just one of my favorite fruits.

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  6. I have made clafoutis using Ina's recipe and also one from Patricia Wells, both are delicious. I'm going to the supermarche later this morning and cherries are now on the shopping list, so glad you reminded me about this yummy pud!
    bon weekend, Madame!

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  7. Looks delicious. I've made blackberry Clafouti - and also rhubarb, which I think is my favorite. We are enjoying Ranier Cherries by the bagful - at 1.99 a pound we constantly have a bag of them on hand. Bings are 1.00 a pound - nice prices this year - they've been a lot more in past years - it is great to live in the PNW where there are cherry stands every few miles.

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