Clafoutis (; oc, clafotís or ), sometimes spelled clafouti in Anglophone countries, is a baked French dessert of fruit, traditionally black cherries, arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. The clafoutis is dusted with

powdered sugar Powdered sugar, also called confectioners' sugar, or icing sugar, is a finely ground sugar produced by milling granulated sugar into a powdered state. It usually contains between 2% and 5% of an anti-caking agent – such as corn starch, p ...

and served lukewarm, sometimes with

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

. A traditional

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

clafoutis contains not only the flesh of the cherries used, but also the nut-like kernels in the stones. Cherry kernels contain benzaldehyde, the compound responsible for the dominant flavour in almond extract. They also contain a small amount of

amygdalin Amygdalin (from Ancient Greek: ' "almond") is a naturally occurring chemical compound found in many plants, most notably in the seeds (kernels) of apricots, bitter almonds, apples, peaches, cherries, and plums. Amygdalin is classified as a cy ...

, a

cyanogenic glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycosides. ...

- a compound potentially capable of releasing cyanide if consumed, but non-toxic in small quantities.

Origins

The clafoutis comes from the

region of France, and while black cherries are traditional, there are numerous variations using other fruits, including red cherries, plums,

prune A prune is a dried plum, most commonly from the European plum (''Prunus domestica''). Not all plum species or varieties can be dried into prunes. A prune is the firm-fleshed fruit (plum) of '' Prunus domestica'' varieties that have a high so ...

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...

cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry ...

blackberries The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family (biology), family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus' ...

. When other kinds of fruit are used instead of cherries, the dish is properly called a

flaugnarde Flaugnarde () also known as flagnarde, flognarde or flougnarde, is a baked French dessert with fruit arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. Similar to a clafoutis, which is made with black cherries, a flaugnard ...

. One reported derivation of dish's name is from

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

''clafotís'', from the verb ''clafir'', meaning "to fill" (implied: "the batter with cherries").. Another reported derivation is that ''clafir'' comes from old French ''claufir'', meaning "to fix with nails," explained as the cherries having the appearance of nail heads. Clafoutis apparently spread throughout France during the 19th century.

Cultural references

In her autobiographical novel ''The War: A Memoir'', French resister and writer

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film '' Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) e ...

carefully gathers up the rationed ingredients to make her husband a clafoutis when he returns from the concentration camps, only to find that he is too weak from malnutrition and exposure to eat it.Duras, Marguerite (1986). The War: A Memoir. Trans Barbara Bray. New York: The New Press, 1986, p. 55. Published in French as La Douleur, 1985. In the film ''

First Cow ''First Cow'' is a 2019 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt, from a screenplay by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond based on Raymond's 2004 novel ''The Half-Life''. It stars John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Scott Shephe ...

'' (2019), Otis "Cookie" Figowitz bakes a blueberry clafoutis for a visiting ship's Captain in the wilderness of mid-19th century

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

References

Occitan desserts French desserts Custard desserts Fruit dishes {{dessert-stub

Origins

Cultural references

See also

References