CHERRY ON TOP: Celebrate cherry season in BC with my simple Cherry Clafoutis recipe

Summer is fruit season in BC and fat, juicy cherries are some of the first fresh delights to arrive from the Okanagan Valley.

Cherry clafoutis is a classic French dessert and a delicious way to celebrate summer.

By CINDA CHAVICH

It's cherry season — among the first local fruits of summer in BC!

While a bowl of fresh cherries is all you need for a picnic dessert, if you want to guild the lily (or are faced with a windfall of ripe cherries), baking a simple cherry clafoutis is always a good option.

This French peasant dessert is a kind of custardy flan or fruity pancake, a simple sweet batter of eggs, milk, sugar, flour and/or ground almonds and vanilla that’s poured over whole cherries and baked until golden brown.

The same technique works well with blueberries, blackberries and other tree fruit, so it’s an easy sweet dish to serve all summer long.

CLASSIC CLAFOUTIS RECIPE & VARIATIONS

Julia Child may have been the chef who popularized clafoutis on this side of the pond, but it’s a home style dish served throughout France.

There are many variations on the theme. Traditionally, whole unpitted cherries are used, and because cherry pits impart an almond note to the flan, modern recipes (using pitted cherries) also often include a splash of amaretto or almond extract.

Some recipes include almond flour, along with regular flour in the batter, or a scattering of toasted almonds on top. Some versions use milk and cream or plain yogurt.

My recipe is an amalgam of all of those ideas, a Cherry Clafoutis with ground almonds and a little yogurt in the batter, with slivered almonds on top. Like French cooks, I make sure to butter the dish and sift in a little sugar before adding the batter and fruit, and I add a little more sugar and bits of butter on top, along with some toasted almonds, in the last 10 minutes of baking.

We served our clafouitis warm, or at room temperature, dusted with icing sugar, with a scoop of lemon gelato or ice cream on the side.

Some people bake their clafoutis in a cast iron pan and some serve it warm for breakfast (or as morning leftovers).

Fresh Okanagan cherries are a Canadian tradition in summer

CANADIAN CHERRIES GROWN IN THE OKANAGAN VALLEY

The cherry tree has ancient roots — pits found in Stone Age caves in Europe — and though somewhat difficult to grow, thrives in the warm dry climate of BC’s central Okanagan Valley. It’s a $52 million crop with some of the varieties now grown around the world developed right here in the Canadian research station in Summerland, BC.

Local BC cherries start are showing up in supermarkets in late June or early July, and are only available fresh for four to six weeks.

So now is the time to indulge in sweet cherries — from ruby red early Lapins to golden blushed Rainiers — all part of the “Rosaceae” family and related to the other tree fruits including apricots, peaches and plums that follow throughout the summer season.

Local cherries, grown on the Saanich Peninsula, from Andrew's Farmstand, a self serve shop in a vintage green truck.

Peak cherry season is July through mid-August so it’s time to enjoy local cherries. Local growers celebrate BC Cherry Month from July 15 to Aug. 15 to promote the fact that 95% of Canada’s cherries are grown here in BC, most in the Similkameen Valley in the southern Okanagan.

There are also some cherry growers on Vancouver Island — on the Saanich Peninsula, check out Silver Rill Berry Farm or Andrew's Farmstand, a little self-serve shop set up in the back of a vintage green truck.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF CHERRIES

A superfood, packed with nutrients, antioxidants, Vitamin C and potassium, cherries support heart health and immune systems, are anti-inflammatory and have a low glycemic index so are diabetes-friendly fruits. High in fibre and naturally hydrating, cherries make a healthy summer snack. Store them in the refrigerator and they’ll keep for a week or more.

Pit cherries with a special tool or try pushing a straw or a chopstick through each cherry from the stem end until the seed pops out.

CHERRY SEASON IN BC

Beyond cherry pies, desserts, they can be pitted and preserved in brandy to add to your favourite cocktails and cooked into cherry jams. Add pitted cherries to muffins, bars and smoothies or make cherry syrup for pancakes.

We’re celebrating Canada Day all week long, and along with our red-and-white maple leaf flag, indulging in a handful of gorgeous red cherries — or strawberries and raspberries — baked up in a sweet clafoutis, seems like the perfect way to mark the start of summer fruit season!  

RECIPE:

MY CHERRY CLAFOUTIS

Here’s my version of clafoutis made with BC cherries in cherry season. This French-inspired peasant recipe is easy and adaptable, no matter what fresh summer fruit is at hand. Try making it with sliced red plums and apricots, or any number of summer berries, including blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.

2 tbsp melted butter (plus more for the pan)

3 small or 2 large eggs (165 g in total)

7 tbsp sugar

½ cup milk

¼ cup plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract (plus a ¼ tsp maple extract)

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup ground almonds/almond flour

Pinch of salt

1.25 lb fresh sweet cherries pitted

1 tbsp sugar

1-2 tbsp cherry brandy, framboise or orange brandy (to macerate the cherries with the sugar)

Pit the cherries and place in a bowl. Toss with 1 tbsp sugar and drizzle the booze over top. Set aside to macerate while you make the batter.

For the batter, in a blender, combine the eggs, sugar, milk, yogurt, vanilla and zoom for a few seconds to combine. Add the flour, ground almonds and salt and zoom for a few more seconds until the batter is well mixed. Set aside for 15-30 minutes.

Take a shallow 9-10-inch round baking dish and butter it well with softened butter. Sprinkle another tablespoon of sugar over the butter in the bottom of the dish

375 F for about 35-45 minutes (at the 25 minute mark, take the clafouti out of the oven, sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar and tiny dots of butter, and spread on a thin layer of lightly toasted sliced almonds — then put it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until nicely browned on top and around the edges). Test with a toothpick to make sure it’s cooked through.

Remove the clafouti from the oven and cool it on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dusting of icing sugar, and bit of whipped lemon cream or lemon ice cream on the side.

Serves 6-8.

©CindaChavich2026