Somewhere between a tart and a flan, somewhere between a cake and a pudding — cherry clafoutis sits comfortably in its own category.

It's a traditional French dessert, rustic and unfussy, made by pouring a thin eggy batter over fresh cherries and baking until the whole thing puffs up golden and set.

The result is custardy, lightly sweet, and loaded with fruit in every single bite.

Ingredients (Serves 6)

3 cups (about 450g) fresh sweet cherries, pitted

3 large eggs, room temperature

¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar

1 cup (240ml) whole milk

½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour, measured correctly

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon salt

Powdered sugar for dusting

Unsalted butter for greasing the dish

Prep the Pan and Cherries

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a deep 9-inch pie dish or any 7–8 cup oven-safe baking dish generously with butter. Pit the cherries — every single one. The traditional French version left them unpitted (supposedly for added almond flavor), but you're going to want to spare your guests that. Arrange the pitted cherries in a single layer across the bottom of the dish.

Make the Batter in a Blender

This is where it gets impressively easy. Add the eggs, sugar, milk, flour, vanilla, and salt to a blender. Blend for about 30 seconds until completely smooth. If you don't have a blender, whisk by hand — just make sure no lumps of flour remain.

Pour the batter evenly over the cherries. It will look thin and liquid; that's correct. It will puff and set in the oven.

Bake Until Puffed and Golden

Bake for 50–55 minutes. The clafoutis is done when the edges look firmly set, the top is puffed and golden brown, and the center no longer jiggles as liquid when you move the dish. A toothpick inserted in the center (avoiding the cherries) should come out clean of wet batter.

It will deflate slightly as it cools — completely normal, not a failure.

Serve Warm with Powdered Sugar

Let it cool for about 20 minutes, then dust generously with powdered sugar. Serve warm, scooped into bowls with a spoonful of whipped cream. It's honestly hard to stop eating it warm and fresh.

Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Because of the egg-based custard, refrigerate once it's cooled. Reheat gently or enjoy cold straight from the dish — both work.

A Few Tips Worth Knowing

Measure the flour correctly — spoon it into the measuring cup and level off the top. Too much flour makes the batter dense and cakey instead of custardy. Fresh sweet cherries are the traditional choice, but frozen ones work if thawed and well-drained first. Avoid cherry pie filling — it's too wet and too sweet. And if you're skipping the vanilla in favor of a teaspoon of almond extract, it adds a gorgeous nutty flavor that pairs beautifully with the fruit. Very much worth trying.