This sensational French clafoutis recipe is filled with fresh fruit and custard-like cream filling. It’s a classic dessert that’s perfect for breakfast or after a meal. And the best part? It’s so easy to make!
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and guess what? Clafoutis counts as breakfast! The first time I stumbled upon clafoutis was a few years ago in France. It was one of my first trips together with Erez and we didn’t make any restaurant reservations like we do today months in advance. It was a busy night and we had no luck finding a nice place, but we were starving so we ended up in a tiny restaurant that didn’t look very promising. The food wasn’t great, but the dessert – raspberry clafoutis – made everything better. I had never tried it before but have made it dozens of times ever since.
What is clafoutis?
Clafoutis is a French dessert made with fruit covered in a batter that consists of eggs, sugar, milk, and flour. It’s a thick custard that is similar to flan in texture. It is usually made with cherries, but other fruits can be used as well. The recipe is simple to make and you won’t believe the results! A savory version of clafoutis consists of tomatoes, cheese, and prociutto.
How to make clafoutis
Learn how to make this incredibly simple, yet sensational clafoutis recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Butter a 9-inch cast iron skillet or pie pan. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, and salt for about a minute until well combined.
- Add flour and whisk until smooth and lump free.
- Whisk in melted butter, followed by the milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Make sure that the mixture is completely smooth. Pour batter into your prepared pan and ccatter fruit onto the batter.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until the clafoutis is set and golden at the edges. It’s ok if it’s still wobbly in the center. Let cool slightly until lukewarm. Dust with powdered sugar. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.
Note: The clafoutis will puff up and get golden on top, but the inside will stay soft and creamy. Serve it immediately after baking while it’s still warm. Traditional clafoutis is dusted with powdered sugar on top. It is baked in a large dish so it’s great as a sweet treat for a weekend brunch with the family.
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Which fruits should I use?
Cherries and raspberries are my favorite fruits to use in clafoutis but peaches, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, pears, or other soft fruit will work well in this recipe.
How to store leftover clafoutis
Clafoutis tastes best when eaten immediately after it is made, while it’s still warm. If you have any left over, you can store them in the refrigerator and warm slices in the microwave for about 20 seconds or in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°F/180°C to reheat. However, clafoutis does not freeze well. The fruit can make it soggy and not as tasty.
More Sensational Breakfast Treats:
- Peanut Butter Pancakes: Made with creamy peanut butter and dark chocolate chips.
- Soft Ricotta Pancakes: Light, airy, and delicious.
- My Favorite Waffles: Best served with fresh fruit and maple syrup!
- Crepes: Delicate and flavorful, fill these crepes with whatever you like.
- Perfect Cinnamon Rolls: Ooey, gooey, and topped with amazing cream cheese frosting.
Clafoutis
A delicate yet rich French dessert made with fresh berries and a baked custard filling. Top with a dash of powdered sugar for breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (70g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Finely grated zest of ½ lemon, optional
- 2 cups pitted cherries, berries, or other fruit**
- Powdered sugar, for garnish
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Butter a 9-inch cast iron skillet or pie pan.*** In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, and salt for about a minute until well combined. Add flour and whisk until smooth and lump free. Whisk in melted butter, followed by the milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Make sure that the mixture is completely smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan. Scatter fruit onto the batter.
-
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the clafoutis is just set (it’s ok if it’s still wobbly in the center) and golden at the edges. Let cool slightly until lukewarm. Dust with powdered sugar, if you like. Cut into wedges and serve.
Recipe Notes
*Using heavy cream in addition to milk makes this dessert rich but also super delicious. If you want to keep things lighter and leave out the cream, use a total of 1 and ¼ cups milk instead.
**My favorite fruits for clafoutis are cherries and berries. Make sure they are sweet and tasty before using them.
***A cast iron skillet retains the heat well, but if you don’t have one you can use any 9-inch dish. Use a shallow dish if you have one.
Nomy says
Wow
Looks so good
Alice says
Looks so good for such a simple recipe!
One question – would this work with frozen berries, or do they have to be fresh?
Shiran says
Hi Alice, frozen berries tend to bleed juice into the batter so I prefer using fresh berries whenever possible, but it is possible use frozen berries as well.
Diane Stone says
I used frozen cherries. Let thaw and drained juice
Debbie says
Glad you asked. I was wondering the same thing. Would like to make it today and only have frozen fruit at the moment. I think I will do as it says and let them thaw first, drain the juice.
Shiran says
Yes, it’s best to thaw and drain before using.
Jay says
I have made then wuth borh frozen cherries and blueberries
Kirin says
Do you think you could make this non-dairy? Almond milk? Coconut cream? Any other possiblities?
Cj says
Absolutely. And I use almond flour, stevia or honey. Keto friendly.
Janice says
Some clafoutis recipes call for significantly less liquid than this recipe.
What would be the difference in the final product? Your recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups. I have also seen just 1/2 c called for. Of course I could try both recipes and see for myself! Just wondering about an explanation. Thank you.
Rose says
I’ve made it before with a different recipe, less liquid, no cream etc and it was not as good at all! More like a Yorkshire pudding, and rubbery too. This recipe is delicious, 😋I’m glad I tried it again cos I wasn’t sure if I’d like it.
Sherry Tucker says
I’ve heard of clafoutis before, but have never really looked at a recipe…seems to be similar (at least in its construction) to a twist on “Amazing Coconut Pie” using peaches instead of coconut.
Marc says
….clafoutis was created in the 1860s…..I think what you MEANT was “Amazing coconut pie seems to be similar to clafoutis”…. (“Amazing coconut pie” is a 1950s invention, developed in the USA after importation laws were changed permitting ‘moist shredded coconut’ to be legally imported to the Former Colonies)…
Mary Dawson says
This recipe is a winner. I found a can of peaches in the pantry and decided to cut them up and it came to exactly two cups. This was the best clafouti I have ever made. I can’t wait to experiment.
Mandi says
Super simple and delicious! I used equal quantities of raspberries and blackberries accompanied with dollop cream. Absolutely sensational and also delicious served cold the next day.
Dhiraj says
Can i use fresh cream instead of heavy cream?
CindySmetana says
I used sour cream instead of heavy cream and it came out great.
Roberta says
Fresh cream is usually cream that rises to top when cow is milked, same as heavy cream.
Margaret says
I made this today. It is delicious. I put all the ingredients in my blender and it was so easy! Thank you for the great recipe.
Sandra says
Would this recipe still taste delicious if I replaced some flour with almond meal as I would like to make this tonight with cherries.
Shiran says
Hi Sandra. I haven’t tried it, but it should be fine if you replace a little bit of flour with it (not all).
Sandra says
Would this recipe still taste delicious if I replaced some flour with almond meal as I would like to make it tonight with cherries.
jonathan heatley says
i used frozen mixed fruit and it worked perfectly. I let it cook through with the oven turned off though, at the end of its cooking time.
Tina says
Made this 5 times, always delightful! Used sour cream once to substitute the heavy cream. Have also used vanilla Greek yogurt. Amazing easy recipe. Family loves it!
Shannon Paguirigan says
This was a big hit this morning for breakfast! One problem I had was getting it out of the pan. You say “prepared pan”, but it doesn’t say what to use to prepare it. That’s why it didn’t get a full 5 stars. Getting it out and onto the plates wasn’t easy.
Shiran says
Hi Shannon, after preheating the oven, the recipe says to butter a 9-inch cast iron skillet or pie pan. I hope it helps.
Megan Murphy says
Hi there! I was hoping to add a bit of almond flavour to this clafoutis and I was wondering if I should do it by adding a bit of almond extract, or some almond flour (maybe like a 2:1 ratio of regular flour to almond flour, keeping the grams the same). Do you think this would work?
Shiran says
Hi Megan 🙂 you can use almond extract in addition to or instead of vanilla extract to get a great almond flavor. Regarding the flour, all-purpose works best with this recipe to ensure a creamy texture. I haven’t tried it with almond flour, but I can imagine it would make it a bit crumbly and less smooth.
restaurantthatdeliversnearme.website says
Thanks for the recipe.
Melanie says
Wonderful recipe! I’ll use this batter recipe for all kinds of clafoutis! I made it tonight using one cup of sliced fresh strawberries and a cup of sliced rhubarb, and it worked beautifully.
Steve Severin says
This is a great recipe. My first attempt came out really well and everybody liked it.
Min says
It turned out well with sour cream as suggested. I substituted the sugar with maple syrup.
Great recipe!
food.co.rw says
It is a great recipe. Thanks!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
So glad you enjoyed!
Carol says
Excellent! Wonderful! Thank you so much for the recipe! Merry Christmas!
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
Merry Christmas Carol, and so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Rose says
I’ve made it before with a different recipe, less liquid, no cream etc and it was not as good at all! More like a Yorkshire pudding, and rubbery too. This recipe is delicious, 😋I’m glad I tried it again cos I wasn’t sure if I’d like it.
Julianne says
Wow, I had never had anything like this before, it is delicious! I bought a ton of fresh cherries on sale, and was searching for a recipe to use some of them. I didn’t have heavy cream, so substituted a big dollop of fat-free plain Greek yogurt. I was worried exchanging protein for the fat would cause a problem, but it set up beautifully!
You said use a shallow pan, so I used my shallow pie plate. It was filled to the rim! I put a foil tray underneath it in case it boiled over but it didn’t.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Awesome! So glad this turned out well for you Julianne! Thanks for baking with us.
Julianne says
Forgot to give it all the stars it deserves!
Artur says
Technically traditional real French clafoutis, a specialty dish of Limousin, made with unpitted black cherries. If made with other fruits, it is “flaugnarde”.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Thank you, Artur! I did not know that!
Eva Dankos says
Super easy and quick recipe.My first try and it was a 100%success. I translated thus recipe to my bff and she baked it a couple of hours later same day and her family was very satisfied as well.thank you!!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Thank you, Eva! So glad this recipe was a hit for you and your friend!
Nannie Oakley says
Made this recipe in iron skillet. Left out cream. Used 1 1/2 tsp vanilla with 2 1/2 cups raspberries, blueberries & blackberries. Wonderful brunch or breakfast “pie” with dollop of whip cream. Yum.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Yum! That sounds wonderful. So glad you enjoyed it!
Robert J Fahr says
I use canned pitted cherries packed in water. Just drain off the water completely and you are ready to bake.