A classic French dessert made super simple – Cherry Clafoutis – and healthier with less sugar and a modern twist of lime.
Years ago, I was lucky enough to meet Julia Child. But today, I want to introduce you to another fabulous French cook.
She, too, is American, but has been living in France for a while now. And lucky for us, she blogs all about it.
Please meet Mary Brighton of @Brighton Your Health. Her unique perspective on health is fresh, yet simple – stemming from her French lifestyle. Here are just a few of my favorite posts from Mary:
- Yum Food: How To Get Mouthfeel In Dishes Without Overdoing Fat
- Why Every Cooked Meal Should Have Fat: 5 Facts on Fat and Flavor
- How Taste and Satiety Keep You Thinner
And, the reason you get to meet Mary today is tied to this month’s theme for The Recipe ReDux. We are celebrating the fact that it’s been 5 whole years since we created this registered dietitian and healthy living blogging community:
For ReDux’s birthday month, let’s celebrate each other! Pick a fellow ReDuxer, go to their blog and create a recipe inspired by them.
And Mary has been sharing her French inspiration with us since the very beginning of ReDux. For all five years!
The recipe I created this month was inspired by Mary – and the summer I spent in France – when I first tasted cherry clafoutis:
I was 16. My French host family brought me to the Palace of the Sun King at Versailles. After walking through the famous Hall of Mirrors (which was a magical experience for this farm girl from Montana) we spread out a picnic in the palace gardens. Out of the picnic basket, my host mom pulled a clafoutis de cerries. It was amazing: Creamy, custardy, with the sweetest cherries. Yes, I really do remember all the details decades later.
Clafoutis is a simple recipe made up of milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and any fresh fruit. Julia Child’s classic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking includes clafoutis variations using pears, peaches, plums, apples and more.
Now, Julia’s recipe doesn’t have a ton of sugar: Less than 1 cup for 8-9 servings. But I wondered if I could reduce the sugar even more without reducing the fat –> normally, I would always reduce the fat in a Julia Child recipe.
The results were delicious – even with less sugar. I followed Mary’s advice of using fat judiciously to satiate – I used whole milk in the recipe – and served clafoutis for dessert after a light dinner. And then I ate the last piece for breakfast like baked oatmeal.
A slice of this clafouti – made with full-fat milk, protein-rich eggs, and whole-grain oats would certainly keep you satisfied through the morning.
Bon Appetit! A classic French dessert made easy...and healthy: Cherry Clafoutis with Lime via @TspCurry #thereciperedux Click To Tweet
PrintCherry Clafouti with Lime
- Yield: 8-9 servings 1x
Description
A classic French dessert made super simple – and healthier with less sugar and a modern twist of lime.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
- 1 1/4 cup whole or 2% milk
- 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar – divided
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Grated zest from 1/2 lime (about 1 teaspoon zest very loosely packed)
- 2 1/2 cups (about 12 ounces) pitted black cherries (fresh or frozen)
Instructions
- Butter or spray with cooking spray a 9.5-inch glass (or ceramic) pie plate; set aside.
- In a blender, process oats until finely ground like flour. Add remaining ingredients, except 1 tablespoon sugar and cherries; process until very smooth.
- Pour only 1/4-inch of batter into pie plate. Place over a medium-hot stove burner and cook the batter until beginning to get firm – about 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle cherries over batter; sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar over cherries. Top with remaining batter.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 50-55 minutes until batter is set and a knife inserted into batter comes out nearly clean.
- Serve warm or room temperature sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Grab a cup of coffee and make a little time to check out these other inspirational bloggers:
Courtney
Friday 1st of July 2016
It's been ages since I've had clafoutis, and this looks lovely! Cherries and lime go so deliciously together-- pinning for later! :)
Serena Ball
Friday 1st of July 2016
Where did you have clafoutis for the first time? I would love to know! Enjoy making this...and feel free to mix up the fruit; I'm making peach clafoutis this weekend.
Alexandra Caspero
Monday 27th of June 2016
I haven't tried clafoutis before, this recipe looks amazing!
Rachel @ Delicious Balance
Friday 24th of June 2016
I love cherry clafoutis! This looks so beautiful!
Lauren Grant
Tuesday 21st of June 2016
Mmmmm sounds amazing! I have been thinking about developing a cherry clafoutis recipe for quite some time now. I'll be giving this gorgeous one a try!
Sarah Pember
Tuesday 21st of June 2016
I have always been curious about clafoutis...mostly because I'm a lazy baker and it always looked fairly simple, but delicious. I like the flexibility of fruit choice AND the fact that most of the ingredients are things I'm already eating for breakfast. (Well, sort of.) So, dessert and breakfast all in one? Love it. :)