Cherry Clafoutis

Support the ‘CherryAid’ campaign to save the British cherry! They are a delightful fruit – as my garden’s bird population will also confirm! This classic cherry dish has a close texture with juicy fruit throughout. It is served warm, but is also rather good eaten cold with clotted cream.

 

Ingredients

Serves 6

  • Knob of butter
  • 450g (1 lb) cherries, pitted (stoned)
  • 25g (1 oz) plain flour
  • 55g (2 oz) caster sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 568ml (1 pint) milk
  • 6 tbsp kirsch

Decoration:

  • Icing sugar or caster sugar

Method

Butter an oval AGA ceramic dish and pour in the cherries.

Place the flour in a basin and stir in the sugar, then add the eggs and egg yolks, whisk together and gradually add the milk. Strain the batter over the cherries and pour over the kirsch.

2 oven AGA: Place on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven and cook for 20 minutes, then slide in the cold plain shelf and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the clafoutis is brown and puffed up.

3 and 4 oven AGA: Place on the top set of runners in the baking oven and cook for 30-40 minutes, until the clafoutis is brown and puffed up.

Cool until warm and dredge with icing or caster sugar, then serve.

Do not despair as the clafoutis will subside as it cools!

Conventional cooking: Bake at 190°C (375ºF), fan oven 170°C or Gas Mark 5 for about 45 minutes.
 

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