Black Forest Clafoutis (Cherry and Chocolate Clafoutis)

This Black Forest Clafoutis is my twist on a classic French dessert. Bittersweet chocolate and sweet cherries baked in a chocolatey soufflé like batter. It’s decadent but not too sweet. Serve warm with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

It has been a month since I last posted a recipe. I hate that I’m not able to post as often as before the pandemic. Without traveling and dining out, I struggle to get inspired and come up with new ideas. I want to make sure that every recipe that I share is something that I’m excited about. So in the coming months, I may not post as much. But I’ll try my best to continue bringing in new recipes.

Let’s talk about today’s recipe. Clafoutis is a French baked dessert with fresh fruits. Fruits are baked in a simple batter (flour, egg, milk & sugar) until slightly puffed and golden brown. Clafoutis recipes have been pretty popular on the internet over the years, but I never got interested until I saw a YouTube video of J. Kenji López-Alt (from Serious Eats) making clafoutis. It looked very easy and I like the idea of lots of fresh fruits.

My version is Black Forest with cherry and chocolate. Although clafoutis is traditionally just plain, I can’t resist doing a chocolate version. Growing up, I love Black Forest cake and know that cherries and chocolate would go so well together. This is the perfect sweet to celebrate the cherry season!

Clafoutis is best served warm. Melted chocolate, roasted sweet cherries, and chocolatey batter. Bryan described the texture of clafoutis like crepe at the bottom and soufflé in the center. I think it kind of reminds me of bread pudding. It’s probably somewhere in between. Anyway, it’s a wonderful warm sweet dish. Don’t forget the whipped cream and chocolate curls. Decadent and not too sweet. Bryan and I both really enjoyed this!

By the way, did I mention that clafoutis can be reheated for later? So you don’t have to worry about not being able to finish the whole thing all at once! Keep in an airtight container in the fridge and warm it in the oven when ready to serve.

Hope you guys like the recipe! Later & stay safe!

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Black Forest Clafoutis (Cherry and Chocolate Clafoutis)

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine French

Keyword baking, black forest clafoutis, cherry chocolate clafoutis, dessert, easy dessert, french dessert, fresh cherry dessert, sweet breakfast

Servings 6 people

Author Lokness

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pound fresh Bing cherries (stems removed, pitted and keep whole)
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate (about 60% cacao) (cut into ½-inch chunks)
• Whipped cream (optional)
• Chocolate curls (optional)

Instructions

• In a 10-inch cast iron skillet or baking dish, add 1 tablespoon butter. Let it soften at room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C).
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder & salt. Set aside.
• In a blender, add milk, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Blend until smooth, about 20 seconds. Add the flour mixture and pulse until just incorporated, about 5 – 7 pulses.
• Coat the 10-inch skillet with the softened butter. Add the pitted cherries and arrange them in a single layer. Pour the batter over the cherries. Top with the chocolate chunks. Bake in the oven until puffed around the edges and set in the center, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool for about 15 minutes. It will sink slightly as it cools.
• Scoop the clafoutis into serving plates. Serve warm with whipped cream and chocolate curls if desired.

Notes

1. For storage, keep leftover in an air-tight container. When ready to reheat, scoop into an oven-safe baking dish and bake in a 300˚F oven until warmed though, about 12 minutes.
2. How to remove cherry pits without a cherry pitter? Use a rounded pastry tip! Place a rounded pastry tip on a chopping board. Hold the cherry stem side down and over the pastry tip. Press down firmly until you feel the tip has reached the pit. Turn the cherry over to the other end. Press down the cherry onto the pastry tip until it reaches the pit. Now, you have 2 cuts from both ends. Turn the cherry back to the steam end. Push down on the pastry tip until you can feel the pit starts to move. Pop out the pit with a help of a chopstick. It looks like this.
3. For the chocolate chunks, you can use semi-sweet or bittersweet. It’s your preference. You can also use chocolate chips too, but I think chocolate chunks look better on the clafoutis than chocolate chips. 
4. To make whipped cream, whisk 1 cup of cold heavy cream in an electric mixer (or by hand), add 2 tablespoons sugar. Beat until stiff peak form. Don’t over beat.
5. To make chocolate curls, take a about 2-inch piece of chocolate and microwave in 50% for 15 – 20 seconds. (I didn’t heat up my chocolate this time. It was a warm day.) Using a vegetable peeler, scrape the blade lengthwise across the softened chocolate to create curls. Refrigerate until ready to use.

(Adapted from The Kitchn)