Apple Clafoutis – A Rustic Baked French Dessert

Apple Clafoutis is a twist on a classic French dessert that’s a delightful combination of apples and a rich custard.

Always Researching New Recipes

As a food blogger (and someone who just loves to cook!), I am constantly researching new recipes and new ways of cooking and baking. Some of it can be a little tedious (i.e., LOTS of reading), but there are many other fun ways of doing this research. That includes everything from going out to a restaurant, sampling local classics while traveling and the occasional cooking class.

I happened to be in a cooking class and this particular day was mainly focused on French cuisine. We made a wonderful French onion soup, a great Coq au Vin and a French clafoutis that was delicious. While I was very familiar with French onion soup and Coq au Vin, I had not come across any clafoutis recipes in my research.

​This was such a delicious dessert that I wanted to find out more about where it came from and what it was all about.

What Is a French Clafoutis?

A clafoutis (cla-foo-TEE) is a classic rustic French dessert. A traditional clafoutis is a baked dessert made with unpitted black cherries nestled in the bottom of a baking dish, which are then covered with a thick, flan-like batter. This is a crustless dessert and therefore really easy to make.

The end result is not a creamy custard or a cake, but somewhere in between. Almost like a pancake consistency.

The origins of the cherry clafoutis date back to the mid-1800’s in the Limousin region of France. The origins of the word “clafoutis” come from the word “clafir’ in the local dialect. Clafir means “to fill”. It became very popular “to fill” a baking dish with fruit and batter and from there the French clafoutis became very popular within their country and also neighboring regions.

As I mentioned, the traditional clafoutis was made with cherries. There was an abundance of cherries in the Limousin region and therefore easy to incorporate into the local dishes.

What Were the Traditional Cherries to Use?

The traditional cherries to use were black cherries as these were the type of cherries they had in the Limousin region. Black cherries tend to have a stronger and sweeter flavor than other cherries which work well in this rustic dessert.

However, I have seen a traditional recipe use sweet cherries or sour cherries (like Morello cherries) and you adjust the sugar accordingly. In any of these cherry clafoutis recipes, they did leave in the cherry pits. The cherry pits tended to provide an almond-like flavor (like almond extract would) to the dish which provided another taste profile to this sweet dessert.

​And, most people would agree that using fresh cherries is better than using frozen cherries. However, if you don’t have fresh cherries, you can use frozen, but allow more time to bake. Make sure they are thawed and rinsed before using.

Is a French Clafoutis Only Made with Cherries?

The great thing about this homemade French dessert is that you can use almost any kind of fruit. A blueberry clafoutis would be a great sweet treat, but you could also use raspberries, peaches, nectarines, blackberries, strawberries, etc. Basically, you can make your French clafoutis with your favorite fruit.

My Take on This Classic French Dessert – Apples!

At the time of year I was in this cooking class, there wasn’t an abundance of cherries available. They are a seasonal fruit, so fresh cherries were not in the plan as we did not want to use frozen fruit.

However, we did have access to apples. So, we decided to make an apple recipe which was basically a crustless apple tart, but done in the traditional clafoutis style.

We wanted to use tart apples as they tend to have a firmer texture which holds up well during baking. A Granny Smith apple works great. Three to four large to medium apples is about all you need.

​From there, we pretty much stayed true to the traditional recipe, but did add in a couple of things to make it even more interesting (i.e., vanilla extract and rum!). I think you will find this to be both easy to make and delicious. And, on top of that, something people probably haven’t had before and will likely be asking for more!

Enjoy!

Tips for Making Perfect Apple Clafoutis

• Make sure you peel the apples before you core and slice them.
• The easiest way to core apples if you don’t have an apple corer is to first cut the apples into quarters and then put the quarter on its side and with the knife at an angle, slice off the core.
• To avoid a mess if the clafoutis boils over in the oven, I recommend putting the pie pan on a baking sheet before putting it in the oven. 
• If you don’t have any rum on hand, vodka would be a good substitution.

Ingredients Needed for Apple Clafoutis

Full instructions can be found below in the recipe card

For the batter:

• Eggs
• Sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Whole milk
• Butter
• Vanilla extract
• Salt

For the apples:

• Butter
• Apples
• Sugar
• Rum

How to Make Apple Clafoutis

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  
• Grease a 9-inch pie pan and coat with sugar.
• Whisk the sugar and the eggs together in a medium bowl.
• Whisk in the flour and about 1/4 cup of the whole milk to make a smooth paste.  
• Then whisk in the rest of the milk, the melted butter and the vanilla extract.
• Let the batter rest while you prepare the apples.
• Peel and core the apples.
• The easiest way to core apples if you don’t have an apple corer is to first cut the apples into quarters and then put the quarter on its side and with the knife at an angle, slice off the core.
• Slice the apples into about 1/2 inch slices.
• In a large skillet, melt 1 tbsp butter over medium heat and then stir in the sugar and rum.
• Add in the apple slices, stirring to coat with the sugar mixture.
• Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to soften. Pour 2 cups of the batter into prepared pie pan.  
• Put the apple slices in the pie pan, reserving the liquid in the skillet to glaze the clafouti when it’s done baking.
• Pour the rest of the batter over the apple slices.
• Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until it’s golden brown and the center is set.  
• I put the pie pan on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over.  
• When it’s done, remove from oven and pour reserved liquid over the top.  
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

More Fall Dessert Recipes to Enjoy

• Easy and Delicious Apple Cranberry Crisp
• Apple Crostata
• White Chocolate Blueberry Crisp
• Maple Pumpkin Pie
• Mini Apple Spice Rum Cakes
• Pumpkin Bread Pudding – Instant Pot Recipe
• Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers

 

 

ENJOY!