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Well.....it seems the moment I decided to embark on my blogging adventure a couple of months ago, the universe tuned in and decided to test my commitment to this new endeavor.
A few weeks into this gig my laptop dropped dead on me and my camera, which was already acting up, didn’t want to take photos when I needed it to.
Writer’s block has come in the form of my family being home for summer vacation and blocking my train of thought every chance they get. First, I’m solicited to help look for flip flops, swim caps, pina colada flavored lip gloss or all-the-rage ‘crackle’ nail polish on a daily basis. *eye roll*
Then the litany of questions that only children with endless possibilities on vacation can come up with:
“Can I have cotton candy for breakfast?”
“No.”
“Can I bungee jump off the house?”
“No.”
“Can I go to a 3 day sleepover party?”
“No.”
“Can I climb up the flag pole and jump into the lake?
“No.”
And this is why one kid is in summer camp and the other one has joined the local swim league.
However, before my girls were sent off, we visited one of our favorite ‘pick your own fruit’ farm in Warwick, NY. Och’s Farm is a small family owned farm with a host of fruits, veggies and flowers for the pickin’ from spring straight into the harvest!
We picked what seemed like bushels of berries, in particular, cherries. Aside from freezing half of our bumper crop for smoothies, I decided on baking cherry clafoutis as a reward for all of our hard work of eating our way thru the orchard=)
Clafoutis has long become a mainstay of my ‘go to’ desserts when I need to make something sweet without a whole lot of fuss.
Fresh or canned fruit works equally well in this French comfort food that is reminiscent of bread pudding. I usually have all of the simple ingredients on hand and the blender comes in handy when whipping up the custard.
Cherry Clafoutis
1C milk
¼ C kirsch or Cognac
2/3 C sugar (1/3C for batter and 1/3C for fruit)
3 large eggs
1 T vanilla extract
1/8 t salt
2/3 C all purpose flour
3 C cherries, pitted if fresh, drained if canned
¼ C powdered sugar for sprinkling
8” or 9” buttered pie plate or baking dish
Prepare fruit by adding 1/3 C of sugar and ¼ of kirsch or cognac to cherries and letting it macerate (or sit) covered for about an hour or so.
Preheat oven to 350 F.
After the hour is up, drain the fruit. Take ¼ C of the macerating liquid and add with the remaining ingredients (except the fruit) into a blender.
Spread prepared cherries evenly over the buttered dish.
Then pour the batter over the fruit and bake about 50-60 minutes or until the clafoutis has puffed up and browned lightly. You can test the middle with a toothpick or knife.
Be aware that it will sink as it cools. Sprinkle top of clafoutis with the powdered sugar right before serving.
Ideally, it should be served warm.
Nothing fancy here, just a homey full flavored dessert that’s bursting with succulent, juicy sweet cherries, fresh from farm to table!
Happy Baking!
