French Cooking: Cherry Flan

My little misshapen cherry tree has not brought me any more fruit this summer, but the marchés of Toulouse have been abundant. Last weekend while visiting our Sunday market, we found the most gorgeous black cherries. I couldn’t resist buying a pound of these succulent delicacies. So, this week I am presenting a recipe for Clafoutis aux cerises. Clafoutis is a strange name. It comes from the patois (slang) of Limousin—Massif Central. The word clafi means “filled with”.  So, this is a flan filled with cherries. A well-known Frenchman named Curnonsky (Maurice Edmond Saillant), born in Anger in 1872 and dying in Paris in 1956, was also called the “Prince of Gastronomists”. He published La France gastronomique, La table et l’amour, and the magazine Cuisine et Vin. Knowing his food, Mr. Curnonsky said that one can only find these succulent little black cherries in Limousin. “You must have the Limousin blood in your veins from to make this clafoutis!” Well, you don’t really need Limousin blood to make this excellent dessert—just the ingredients and big juicy black cherries. Here is the French Cooking without a Fuss recipe for Clafoutis. Clafoutis de cerisesCherry FlanFor 4-6 personsMarinating time: 30 minutesCooking time: 35-40 minutes ¾ lb. black cherries, washed and stems removed ½ cup sugar 1 tbsp. butter ¾ cup flour, sifted 1 pinch salt 2 eggs, beaten 1 cup milk powdered sugar Put the cherries in a bowl, sprinkle with ¼ cup of the sugar, and let marinate for 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a deep-dish pie pan. In a large bowl, put the flour, salt and remaining ¼ cup sugar. Add the eggs and mix well, then thoroughly mix in the milk. Put the cherries in the pie pan and pour in the batter. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden. Dust with the powdered sugar. Note: The traditional method is to not pit the cherries. Leaving the pits in keeps the cherries very juicy. However, you can de-pit them if you should so desire. But if you do leave in the pits, be sure to let your guests know before eating. Et voilà Ready for some Clafoutis de cerises from the source?  Check out these great French discounts from Auto Europe. April Paute moved to France over 10 years ago with her husband Jean Michel and 2 Siamese cats. Armed with only a dictionary and hand signals, she took on the challenge of requesting the local boucher decapitate a chicken for her. After living in Paris and Antibes, April & co. have settled in Toulouse, where she draws inspiration from her herb garden.