My husband brought the family a giant bag of cherries last week. I have to admit, a 5 pound bag of cherries has its appeal, but I would prefer a 2 pound bag of PITTED cherries. Pitting cherries is about as fun as seeding a pomegranate in my book, so I gave the kids a job. After they were finished I had about 2 cups of cherries left, plenty for one of my favorite quick desserts.
Calfoutis is fun, easy, and can be made with any fruit. It resembles a bread pudding to me in texture, but is warm and homey. A giant hug of a dessert. Enjoy!
Cherry Calfoutis
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup almonds
4 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
a little grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
To get ready, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Butter a shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish, use glass or ceramic. Toss cherries in a small bowl with corn starch and 1 tablespoon of the sugar. Arrange the cherries in the baking dish. In a blender or food processor blend flour and almonds until nuts are nicely chopped. Whisk eggs, salt, and sugar in bowl to blend. Whisk in the flour mixture, and add the milk, peel, and extracts until smooth. Pour custard mixture over cherries.
Bake calfoutis until center is set and golden, about 40 minutes. Slightly cool before sprinkling powdered sugar over the top. Enjoy warm.
Larry would LOVE this.
Posted by: Suzanne Broughton | May 09, 2009 at 08:03 PM