The Cherry Clafouti you will coo over

This can be used for Plums and other stone fruit I believe. I may change the alcohol depending on the fruit. If you make a mistake and pour most of the kirsch into the cherries instead of into the batter, well... then you get pinkish batter after you fix the ratios!

If you can wait, I think this recipe is actually better on the second day.


Cherry Clafouti Recipe

From Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook (Workman Publishing), for About.com
.Clafouti is a French fruit dessert1 with a batter topping. This recipe uses Bing cherries2 spiked with cherry brandy3. It is traditionally served warm with cream, but do try the Raspberry Sauce4.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
•1 pound fresh Bing cherries, pitted
•1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar
•1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon Kirsch (cherry brandy) or Amaretto
•8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
•2 large egg yolks
•1 large egg
•1 teaspoon almond extract
•1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted
•1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
•Raspberry Sauce, optional (recipe link below)
Preparation:
In a small bowl, toss the pitted cherries5 with 2 teaspoons of the sugar and 1 tablespoon of the Kirsch6. Set aside.

Adjust an oven rack to the lowest shelf and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch round Pyrex baking dish.

Place the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the butter in a small bowl. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, cream the mixture until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and egg, 1 at a time, at 1-minute intervals, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to low. Blend in the almond7 extract and the remaining 1/4 cup kirsch. The mixture will look curdled.

Mix the flour and ground cloves and add all at once, scraping the sides of the bowl again. Increase the speed to medium low and mix until the batter is smooth, approximately 30 seconds longer. Take care not to overmix. The batter will have the consistency of thick cream.

Place three-quarters of the cherries and their juices in the bottom of the baking dish. Spread the batter over the fruit. Arrange the remaining fruit on top.

Bake until the cake is golden brown and puffed, and a bamboo skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Cool in the baking dish on a rack. Serve warm with Raspberry Sauce8, if desired.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

• Raspberry Sauce Recipe9

Recipe Source: Nicole Routhier's Fruit Cookbook10 by Nicole Routhier (Workman Publishing)