cherries in january

It feels like it's been winter for a year right now :  ice, snow, mud, wind, ice, cold.  Accent on the cold.  But something did cheer me up when I was foraging at our local small supermarket - I found cherries!  Right in the freezer section, tucked onto the middle shelf, one remaining pouch of plain sweet cherries, which I snatched up doubletime quickly, before anyone else saw them.  And they're delicious.  I've been eating them slightly thawed  most of the time, but today being Sunday, I decided to make a comforting winter dessert - not too sweet, and not sticky, gooey, or fussy.    This cherry clafouti is all those things, and I'm delighted to know I can now make this summery dessert even in the middle of winter.

I've made Julia's traditional clafouti batter, but never made a clafouti with cherries, which was the original fruit for them.  I made blueberry and strawberry clafoutis in the summer, but never cherry, silly me.  I used a different batter, from The Essential Mediterranean cookbook I picked up at Border's before they closed.  I think it cost $4 on the sale table, and the pictures are lovely.

Clafoutis are similar to frittatas, if you've ever made them - not puffy or cakey, but a dense,  light mixture of milk and cream, a little flour and sugar, eggs, and fresh fruit.  They whip up in ten minutes, and bake for 40 minutes , giving you plenty of time to set the table and stir the soup.

To make one 10 inch clafouti:

Lightly butter a pie pan - I used a ceramic fluted pie/tart pan.
Preheat oven to 350F.

1 heaping cup of frozen cherries, pitted
3/4 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
2 extra large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup milk ( I used 2%)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 oz. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
pinch of nutmeg, kosher salt, and about 1/3 t. vanilla
confectioner's sugar for dusting

Spread the cherries over the bottom of the pie pan.

In mixer bowl, add the flour and then the eggs and mix well.
Add the sugar, milk, cream and butter, and the nutmeg, vanilla, and salt, to the flour mixture, just until combined and smooth.  Do not overbeat.

Pour the batter over the cherries and bake for 40 minutes, or until the top is firm when gently pressed.

Remove to cool, then cut into slices and dust with confectioner's sugar.

Enjoy!