Monday, September 13, 2010

Sour Cherry & Apple Clafoutis

Sour Cherry Clafoutis [photo]

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river,
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes..." ~ The Beatles

Yes, I know the song isn't as innocent as I always assumed it to be as a kid, but there's still something about it. A magical, dreamy quality that enfolds me with nostalgia.

My dad is a huge Beatles fan and growing up we heard the songs over and over, from the obvious Let It Be to the more obscure I Am The Walrus. I remember many a road trip accompanied by the melodious sounds of the British foursome. And many afternoons listening to my dad reproduce those very same sounds on his trusty guitar.

Sour Cherry Clafoutis [photo]

And as much as we loved his guitar strumming and singing as smaller children, we found the same things wildly embarrassing as teenagers. It wasn't so much the guitar playing as the very loud singing that accompanied it. Oh the agony of being fifteen! 

On the surface The Beatles and my dad seem to have absolutely zero in common with a French dessert. But when I had my first spoonful of warm fragrant custard-like batter dotted with tart cherries and sweet apples, that same warmth enveloped me. Only this time it wasn't elicited by a song or a memory, but rather via the sense of taste. Which, it turns out, can be just as magical as a song from long ago. 
readysteadycook
This forms the dessert for my last course of the Ready Steady Cook blog challenge. A big thank you to LadyRaven for creating and hosting this event and thanks to Tandy for my list of ingredients.


PS: In case you missed the first two courses, here they are:
Starter - Caramelised Orange & Spinach Salad
Main - Slow Roasted Lamb Ragu on Potato Noodles


Sour Cherry Clafoutis [photo]

Sour Cherry & Apple Clafoutis
Adapted from Simply Recipes
Serves 6 - 8

1 3/4 cup sour cherries (pitted) plus extra for garnishing (optional)
2 red apples, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cake flour
icing sugar, to dust (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Arrange cherries and apples on the bottom of a round oven dish.
2. Beat eggs, sugar and milk together, add flour and whisk until combined.
3. Pour liquid over the cherries and place in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes, or until puffed up and golden brown on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before dusting with icing sugar and serving.

Serve warm or lukewarm with clotted cream. It would also be lovely drizzled with a simple syrup made from sugar and the reserved juice from the cherries (if using a bottle of cherries).

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

oh wow - and you have an entry for my challenge this week, before I have even posted it :)

Hila on September 13, 2010 9:16 am said...

great post :) and yes it is that innocent, the whole LSD thing is an urban legend, the song was based on one of the beatle's daughter's drawings

janice tripepi on September 13, 2010 9:29 am said...

Oh Marisa - what a fab recipe - where do you buy sour cherries my angel? I had such a good laugh at your memories of your dad bangin out The Beatles on his guitar - both Ric and I play guitar - and our kids have had to suffer the same fate as you!!!!! We would invite all our friends over - guitars drums etcetc and i would make pasta and we would all drink copious amounts of red wine ...... what a laugh!!! xxxx have an awesome day angel xxxx jan

Claudz on September 13, 2010 9:31 am said...

Well done on completing the challenge! You've created some inspiring dishes that look yum.

Gaby866 on September 13, 2010 10:22 am said...

I just love cherry clafoutis... I grew up on it with my granny from the Alsace ! she used stale white bread rolls soaked in white wine :) your mix of apples and cherries sounds devine !!

Ally_R on September 13, 2010 10:30 am said...

I just LOVE cherries and this is the perfect way to use them!

Marisa on September 13, 2010 10:54 am said...

Tandy - Awesome! Is your challenge clafoutis? :-)

LadyRaven - Really? Well that makes me feel a lot better.

Janice - Your house sounds like a wonderful place to have grown up in! And I'm sure your boys also have fond memories now that they look back on those song & wine evenings.

Claudz - Thanks so much! Really enjoyed the challenge & looking forward to the next one.

Gaby - Mmmm, love the idea of wine soaked bread. Making mental note for next time...

Homemade Heaven on September 13, 2010 12:10 pm said...

A lovely finale - I love cherries! Life is like a bowl of cherries.

Lori on September 13, 2010 1:46 pm said...

Believe it or not, I have never had a clafoutis. It looks and sounds delicious though. I need to put one on my baking list for this (our) fall.

Koek! on September 13, 2010 2:38 pm said...

Lovely memories... Thanks for sharing them xxx (I also have lovely memories of listening to music with my Dad... though it was about a 4-/60 split between the beatles and the stones :-p)

Ishay on September 13, 2010 3:06 pm said...

What an impressive dessert! I'm keen to try. I love the way you capture the images. You are one very creative pot! :) Look forward to following your posts.

Juanita on September 13, 2010 4:01 pm said...

Yummo!

Arnold on September 13, 2010 5:30 pm said...

The styling on your photos is always so good. You somehow always manage to come up with something very colourful. You could put an empty plate down in your styling and still have a good photo. Oh, and there is nothing wrong with the dessert, it looks great as well.

Eliana on September 13, 2010 5:54 pm said...

Awesome post and even more awesome treat. It could not look more delicious.

Ann on September 13, 2010 6:07 pm said...

Yum, that looks scrumptious, I like your addition of apples to the traditional cherry. I haven't had luck with clafoutis, I tried it once on my blog and wasn't too keen on how it turned out. I need to try your recipe then, clafoutis is on my bucket-list of things to master!

Cherine on September 13, 2010 6:23 pm said...

Gorgeous clafoutis and gorgeous photos!!

Joanne on September 13, 2010 7:38 pm said...

My mom was the Beatles fanatic in the family and we knew all the words from the time we were five. I love any song with the word kaleidoscope in it. And that warm fuzzy feeling I get when I remember five-year-old memories, the beatles being one of them. This clafouti looks fantastic and would definitely give me that feeling!

Faith on September 14, 2010 12:57 am said...

Love the Beatles, what a great song! I love the combo of apples and cherries in the clafouti, it looks incredible!

Marisa on September 14, 2010 9:25 am said...

Rose - I thought life was like a box of chocolates.. ;-)

Lori - Was my first time baking one too! They really are a cinch to make - have a go.

Koek - Amazing to think that there are so many of us with shared memories of our childhood sounds, tastes and sights.

Ishay - Thanks so much! Looking forward to seeing you around here again. :-)

Juanita - You can say that again.

Arnold - Thank you! Really makes my day to read kind words like yours.

Eliana - Why thank you! TheHusband shares your feelings - he couldn't get enough of this clafoutis.

Ann - So sorry to hear that your first attempt didn't work out. This recipe is quite straightforward - hope you have more luck with it! :-)

Cherine - Thank you! And thanks for stopping by.

Joanne - Warm fuzzy feelings are the best! And yeah, kaleidoscope is one awesome word.

Faith - The Beatles are legendary! You must have good taste... :-)

Sharon on September 14, 2010 11:39 am said...

Dit lyk heerlik!!! Love cherries!!

sweet artichoke on September 14, 2010 11:46 am said...

This clafoutis looks droolworthy and delicious! and the pictures are fantastic!!

Lisa on September 18, 2010 8:58 am said...

This looks really, really good! The combination of the cold weather and the fact that i still have some preserved cherries from summer will certainly dictate my dessert tonight :) what a delicious inspiration. thank you.

Jodi said...

My 11 yr old daughter just made it for the first time....looks great!..thank you so much for the recipe and the photos...jodi

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