Indulge in Dark Cherry Clafoutis: Quick and Easy One-Pot Dessert

This Simmer & Serve Dark Cherry Clafoutis (pronounced Claw-Fu-Tea) is an amazingly decadent French dessert that takes under 30 minutes—including resting time!—a rich and creamy custard pie filled with dark cherries, a light golden crust, and finally topped with lemon zest and a dust of cinnamon. Yum!

You’ll love how simple and tasty this healthy dessert can be!

Recipe Overview – Simmer & Serve Dark Cherry Clafoutis

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Allergies & Dietary Restriction-Friendly

As usual, all the recipes are allergy-friendly and Top 8/9 Allergy Free:
no dairy, no eggs, no wheat, no gluten, no nuts, no tree nuts, no shellfish, no seafood, no soy, no added salt added, no added oil, no added sugars, no coconut. (All recipes are also vegan unless that wasn’t obvious).
Using only minimally processed and healing foods, from scratch.

Why So Restrictive?

All of the recipes I design are made to be accessible to as many people as possible. Many people have food allergies (220 million worldwide) or dietary restrictions (17.1% of U.S. adults). And many more people (1.7 billion worldwide) are also currently suffering from non-communicable diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many others which are responsible for 74% of all deaths.

So these recipes are all made to heal, especially those who already need of healing, and don’t add more than the minimum to get the most flavor. One of the most important rules of cooking is that it’s always easier to add an ingredient to a dish than to remove one that you’ve already added.

Add what you want, but the ingredients selected not only cause the least harm they also give the most benefits!

Why Dry Spices and Powdered Ingredients?

With accessibility comes cost and availability. I wanted to design the items so even low-income or people living in food deserts can still eat healthy healing meals so I’ve used the most affordable, common, and convenient ingredients I can find in my area, but feel free to use fresh, frozen, or whatever works for you—most scientific studies are done with powdered/dehydrated foods since they can fit in a pill; so any kind of veggie, fruit, or herb is better than nothing. Try the conversion for common dry/fresh ingredients tables if you’re using different from what’s written in the recipe.

Short Recipe Video – Simmer & Serve Dark Cherry Clafoutis

The Menu for Simmer & Serve Dark Cherry Clafoutis

Here are some some of the most recent dinner recipes for pairing ideas:

• Unstuffed Peppers Casserole – Easy One Pot Stovetop Recipe
• Jalapeño Ched Cornbread: Your New Favorite Stovetop Cornbread For Dunking
• Easy Creamy Tomato Basil Soup: Boil & Blend for a Tasty, Satisfying Brunch
• Boil & Blend Taco Soup: Your New Go-To Tuesday Recipe!
• Low-GI Simmer & Serve Scalloped Potatoes on the Stovetop

How about a different dessert?

• Indulge in Dark Cherry Clafoutis: Quick and Easy One-Pot Dessert
• Sunbutter Raisin Cookie Drops – Simple & Tasty
• Savory Stovetop Cornbread: Comfort Food Made Simple!
• Cinnamon Apple-Raisin Rolls: Fast and Full of Festive Flavor
• Stovetop Banana Cream Hand Pies & Cookies with a Graham Crust

Detailed Directions for Dark Cherry Clafoutis

Note: If you’re not using a spice grinder or blender then you will need oat flour, seed butter, and ground spices.

Jump to Recipe Card

1. Mix your custard ingredients and add the cherries to a pot then pour over your custard, cover, and bring just to a boil.
2. Reduce the heat to a simmer with a lid with a steam vent or leave a small gap for steam to escape while simmering.
   
3. After about 8-10 minutes of simmering remove the lid, and use a spatula to dish out slices of your clafoutis. Top with fresh ground cinnamon and zested lemon.
   
   

Why This Recipe for Simmer & Serve Dark Cherry Clafoutis?

This is a recipe I’ve been dreaming about for quite some time—I grew up working in French kitchens so Clafloutis wasn’t a stranger. I love clafoutis because they are so rich and creamy, but have hints or sweet, here-and-there, to cut through it. I love dark sour cherries so I’ve added them to the mix and they make it even more amazing!

The main reason for making clafoutis was that a whole food plant-based vegan version was virtually unheard of, and finding one that also didn’t require any soy or nuts was a futile pursuit from the start.

The version I created uses simple bananas or apple sauce for the sweetener and ground oats and seed butter

Have ideas for recipes or feedback? Let me know in the comments or connect with me on substack or Instagram!

Blending Without a Spice/Coffee Grinder

You can use any type of blender, just blend/pulse everything for the custard until it’s smooth and well blended, and then follow the regular directions.

If you want you can try to use your stick blender to blend the dry ingredients, like in the video below, but I recommend just blending them with liquid and your stick blender, or another blender or food processor, if you don’t have a spice/coffee grinder.

🌟The Full Simmer & Serve Dark Cherry Clafoutis Recipe🌟

Dark Cherry Clafoutis – Simmer & Serve

Chef Rob

A decadent stovetop creamy custard cake with sweet & sour dark cherries and light and airy crust.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 16 minutes mins

Resting Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 29 minutes mins

Course Baked Goods, Dessert

Cuisine Canadian, French

Servings 4 people

Equipment

• 1 Pot & Lid ideally a lid with a steam vent
• 1 Spice / Coffee Grinder optional if using oat flour and ground chia
• 1 Zester optional

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup sweet & sour dark cherries or other cherries you like

CUSTARD

• ¾ cup banana or ½ cup apple sauce for less sweet
• 6 tbsp oats ground/flour
• ½ tbsp chia seeds ground
• 2 tbsp sunflower seed butter or other seed or nut butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract or better
• ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
• ½ tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup water

GARNISH, optional

• ½ tbsp lemon zest
• ¼ tsp cinnamon for dusting

Instructions

 

• Blend or mix all of the custard ingredients except for the water, add the water slowly while stirring until it becomes a paste then break up any lumps and continue mixing and adding water until it's fully mixed.

  Add your cherries to the bottom of a pot (a seasoned pot works best so it won't stick and that way you can flip it out even) then pour your custard into the center of the pot and rearrange any cherries that moved too close together.
  
• Set the stove on high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. This takes about 4-8 minutes and will not only give us a light crust but it will also add air bubbles and lightness to the custard.

  Remove the lid as soon as it starts boiling and reduce the temperature to a medium-low simmer.
  
• Now cover the pot, partially, with your lid, leaving a small gap for steam to escape, (or cover it fully if your lid has a steam vent).

  Continue to simmer partially covered for around 8-12 minutes. The surface of the custard will have become thicker and a bit darker.

  Now turn on the heat, uncover it, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes until it sets and the custard firms up a bit. The custard should still be nice and creamy and not too thick or rubbery/jello-y.

  Server with a light dusting of cinnamon, fresh lemon zest, and a scoop of wfpb ice cream (see the notes).
  

Video

https://youtu.be/Bxz8FZ4Y5LE/

Notes

Suggested add-ons

• Ice Cream: Fast Freeze No-Churn Ice Cream recipe
• Caramel Sauce: Easy Date or Raisin Caramel Sauce
• Berry Jam/Compote: Fresh Berry Jam/Compote Sauce

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🧂If you absolutely must add salt or sugar then try to add them to taste, to the top of the food, so you use less, and add in small amounts and only after tasting before adding any more. The same goes for other “less healthy” additions, but the idea should be to try to limit and eventually remove adding them, over time, when you are ready. (Use a finer ground salt as it will taste saltier.)

After a few weeks of not eating a SAD diet your tastebuds reset and you’ll notice and be surprised by the natural sugars and sodium in foods, check out the great article, and subscribe to, Michael Corthell on Substack.

If you get value from my recipes and writings then please consider buying me a coffee. Thank you!

💡Protips💡

Use A Heavy Bottom Pot For Even Cooking

Use a steel pot with a heavy bottom for even cooking and a golden crust. Thin or aluminum or copper pots will heat unevenly and are more likely to burn the crust, so use lower temperatures and or use shorter cooking times.

Ideally, this pot should be a seasoned pot so the pie crust won’t stick for sure and so you could even flip it out and over onto a plate.

Break Tradition: Use Pitted Cherries

Traditionally, this dish is served with the cherry pits left inside because it supposedly makes it taste better. I’ve made it both ways and honestly, if anything, it tastes better without the pits baked in. Plus it’s a lot safer to eat.

Use Fruit You Love

Instead of cherries, you can try peaches, pears, strawberries, etc. which turns it into a Flaugnardes (any type of cherry-less clafoutis/flan), regardless of the fruit or name you’ll still have a tasty dessert.

Seed/Nut Butter Substitutes

You can use any seed or nut butter. I suggest 3 tbsp of sunflower seed butter, or 2 tbsp of tahini. I would start with 2 tbsp of cashew butter, macadamia, walnut, and hazelnut butters. The rest I would use 3 tbsp.

If you want to use whole ground seeds/nuts then double the amount of tablespoons for butters.

Vanilla Extract or Pods or Artificial?

If you have access to vanilla pods then by all means use them, for most of us it extract though. Avoid artificial vanilla as it’s fully of potential carcinogens and other unhealthy ingredients.

Zesting Without a Zester

This short video offers some alternatives and reminds you that you want to avoid the white (pith) part of the lemon since it’s bitter.

1. Use a box grater with the finest setting/side
2. Use a vegetable peeler then mince them very finely to release the aromatics.
3. Use a knife: cut off one end so the lemon has a flat end and can stand up. Use a knife to cut fine strips (a serrated utility knife works best for this).
4. In the past I have used the parmesan face of a box grater to get zest, although most of it gets stuck in the grater so it’s a trade up.

Leftovers

Clafoutis will last in the fridge for 3-7 days, but it’s best served warm, that being said it’s a nice addition to oatmeal in the morning. I have doubts on it’s ability to defrost if fully frozen, that being said it would probably be tasty if it was eaten while being only half-frozen.

Blenders, Food Processors, and Immersion Blenders

If you have (oat) flour, ground spices, and ground chia then you don’t need a grinder, blender, or food processor—see above. Otherwise, simply blend the custard ingredients and otherwise follow the recipe.

Nutrition Facts Table – Simmer & Serve Dark Cherry Clafoutis

The Science – Sources

Please tell me how it turned out! Did you: try it, like it, hate it, change it, or do something else unexpected? Help me improve by giving me feedback, thanks!

If I’ve made any mistakes, or something doesn’t make sense, or if you want more/less details, please let me know in the comments below or on substack.

Stay healthy and nourished! Happy cooking!🎁

Chef Robert Leigh

Indulge in Dark Cherry Clafoutis: Quick and Easy One-Pot Dessert