French Clafoutis Recipe

If you’re looking for a delicious and easy French dessert recipe, look no further than Clafoutis! This dish is made with a simple batter that’s poured over fresh fruit, and it’s always a hit with guests. This dessert is super special on Valentine’s Day.

Plus, Clafoutis is really easy to make – even if you’re not an experienced cook. So get your aprons on, and let’s get cooking! This blog post will show you how to make Clafoutis using strawberries as the main ingredient.

Clafoutis, sometimes called clafouti, is an easy dessert that looks like a tart but is crustless. Imagine fresh fruit swimming in a tender pancake batter that’s baked and then served warm.

This recipe is inspired by Julia Child’s recipe for Clafoutis, aka fruit flans.

What is Clafoutis, and where does it come from?

Clafoutis is a fruity flan-like dessert that originated in France. Traditionally, clafouti is made with black cherries at the height of the cherry season, but you can also make this dessert with other fruits. A few of my favorites are peaches, pears, or berries.

Clafoutis has the texture of a tender baked pancake. It’s similar to the American recipe from brown betty but is thicker.

What You’ll Need

You’ll need 3 cups of your favorite in-season fruit and the ingredients below for the batter.

• Fruit. Three cups of in-season fresh fruit. Some of the best choices are cherries, pears, apples, plums, peaches, or berries. You can use almost any fruit that you like. For fruits that have a lot of water, like berries, you will need to add extra flour. [note 1]
• Milk. Use whole milk. *If you are using liqueur macerated fruit, you will be replacing some of the milk with the juice from the macerated fruit. [note 2]
• Sugar. Granulated sugar goes into the batter. You will also use more sugar to toss the fruit if you are not using liqueur macerated fruit.
• Eggs. Three large eggs.
• Salt. Use fine sea salt. No iodized salt here.
• Vanilla. Vanilla extract.
• All-purpose flour.

How To Make a Clafoutis

Clafouti is made in a buttered pie dish or gratin ramekin. This dessert takes about an hour to bake. Cherry is the traditional fruit used in this recipe. But, rules are made to be broken.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare to bake on the middle rack of the oven.
2. Butter a pie dish or gratin generously. Set aside.
3. Dice the fruit. If you’re using cherries, pit them and slice them in half. [note 1]
4. Place all of the ingredients listed for the batter into your blender jar. Cover and blend for one minute. [see note 2 if you are using liqueur macerated fruit]
5. *This step is optional but makes for a better presentation. Add about ¼-inch of batter. Bake the base layer for about 8 to 10 minutes. [note 3]
6. Toss the fruit in ⅓ cup of sugar. Sprinkle it on the first layer of batter and then pour the remaining batter on top. [note 4] * Skip this step if you use the liqueur macerated fruit.
7. Place the clafouti into the oven a bake for about 1 hour. [note 5]
8. Sprinkle the top of the clafouti with powdered sugar.

Variations on the traditional clafoutis recipe

This recipe is super flexible. Most of the ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. The batter is simple to make and can be used with any fruits below.

A few variations are this recipe calls for liqueur macerated fruit. If you choose to use this, there are a few adjustments to the batter. See the recipe card for complete details.

Clafouti a la liqueur

Before you make the batter add 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of liqueur to the fruit. Let the fruit macerate for 1 hour. Substitute this liquid for part of the milk in the batter. Omit the step of tossing the fruit in 1/3 of sugar at the end of the recipe.

Choosing The Right Liqueur

Pick a liqueur that matches the flavor profile of your fruit. If you’re using liqueur macerated fruit, start by cutting up your fruit and adding ⅓ cup of sugar and ¼ cup of liqueur. Let the fruit sit for 1 hour.

You will replace some of the milk with the liquid from the fruit.

• Cherries → Kirsh
• Peaches → Peach liquer
• Apples → Calvados apple brandy, Appleton rum, or cognac
• Berries → Chambord
• Plums → Orange liqueur, kirsch, or cognac
• Pears → Sweet whit wine, kirsch, or cognac

Apples

Follow the master recipe but peel, core, and slice the apples into lengthwise slices. Sauté them in 3 to 4 tablespoons of butter until they are lightly browned. Add the liqueur to the apples and let them sit for about an hour.

Berries

Follow the master recipe but increase the amount of flour in the batter. 2/3 of a cup to 1 and 1/4 cup of flour can be used. I use the higher end for strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. And a little less if I’m using blueberries.

How To Serve Clafoutis

Serve freshly baked clafoutis warm. You can serve it alone or with fresh cream.

A few tips for making perfect clafoutis every time

• Use the freshest fruit. The fruit is the highlight of this recipe, so you want the freshest fruit.
• Use a blender to mix the batter. A blender aerates the batter and makes it silky smooth.
• Use the right baking dish. Use a shallow baking dish such as a pie dish or a gratin. Surprisingly, this dessert is perfect for making in a cast-iron skillet.
• Adjust the batter for berries. If you are using berries, add an extra 1/3 cup of flour to the batter to account for the high amount of liquid in the berries.
• Bake the clafoutis until is is puffy and golde brown. Serve right away.

Hungry For More Fruit Dessert Recipes?

Fruit desserts are the best. If you want to browse more of our favorite dessert recipes, check out a few of my favorite fruit desserts here.

We have everything from Blueberry Hand Pies to Pumpkin Pie and everything in between.