Clafoutis
This clafoutis recipe is simply the best! You can make it with berries, cherries, or any of the fruity variations provided in the post.
Posted by Kathryne Taylor on May 21, 2025
Have you tried the classic French dessert called clafoutis? (It’s pronounced klah-foo-tee.) If not, please let me introduce you to this delightful and simple treat. Clafoutis is a delicious cross between a cake and a custard with a crackled top and luscious, fruit-studded interior. It’s sweet but not too sweet, making it the perfect ending to a lovely summer supper.
Clafoutis is typically baked with cherries, but you’ll see that I used berries here, and you’ll find more options below. My three-year-0ld loves clafoutis. She’s been asking for more “cherry cake” since last summer, and it’s about time we made more.
I made clafoutis over and over again last summer until I got the proportions of this recipe just right (nine times, to be exact). Each attempt was tasty, but the recipe I’m sharing today is perfection. I had to find the right balance between the amounts of flour, sugar, liquid and eggs to yield a silky interior that’s full of flavor but not too eggy or wet. Here it is!
How to Make Clafoutis
Clafoutis is so easy and fun to make. The batter reminds me of crepes or my Blender Oatmeal Pancakes because it comes together in 30 seconds in the blender.
You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s a preview:
- Melt butter in a cast iron skillet or pie pan.
- Arrange fruit on top of the melted butter.
- In a blender, combine some basic ingredients: milk, cream, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and flour.
- Pour the batter over the fruit, then sprinkle the top with a little extra sugar for a fun crackly effect.
- Bake, then serve.
Watch How to Make Clafoutis
Fruity Clafoutis Variations
Change up your clafoutis with the seasons. Use berries in the spring. Choose cherries, berries, peaches or plums during the summer. In the fall and winter, try pears or apples.
Technically, a clafoutis made with any fruit other than dark cherries is called a flaugnarde, but if Julia Child can use berries and call it a clafoutis, I think we can, too.
Cherry Clafoutis
Dark cherry clafoutis is the most classic option, and it’s lovely. Some recipes suggest leaving the pits in the cherries for some natural almond extract flavor, but I would worry about my guests biting into a pit. I preferred the cherries pitted and halved, so I got some cherries in every bite.
Berry Clafoutis: Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or blueberries
My personal favorite! Use one type of berry or a mix of two or more. For these photos, I used a beautiful combination of raspberries, blueberries and sliced strawberries. If you’re using strawberries or particularly large blackberries, slice them into bite-sized pieces before using.
Peach or Plum Clafoutis
Ripe, thinly sliced peaches or plums would be stellar in clafoutis (or a combination—I can’t wait to try it this summer). You could also use nectarines or apricots in place of peaches. You’ll need about 1 pound of fruit (before pitting) or 3/4 pound once sliced.
Apple or Pear Clafoutis
Slice your apples very thinly, about 1/8-inch wide, so they can bake with the cake. Ripe pears will work nicely as well. Arrange them in a fan-like pattern (carefully, watch out for the hot butter) for a beautiful effect. You could add a handful of fresh cranberries for a festive treat.
More Simple Desserts to Make
If you enjoy this clafoutis, check out a few more of my favorite desserts:
- Foolproof Basque Cheesecake
- Gluten-Free Almond Cake with Berries on Top
- Lemon Posset
- Mixed Berry Crisp
- Simple Blueberry Cake
Please let me know how your clafoutis turns out in the comments! I hope it becomes your go-to summertime dessert, too.
Clafoutis
This clafoutis recipe is simply the best! You can make it with berries (my favorite), cherries (my daughter’s favorite), or any of the fruity variations provided in the post. Recipe yields one 10-inch clafoutis, enough for 8 slices.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh raspberries, blueberries, blackberries or sliced strawberries or 1 pound dark cherries, pitted and halved (about 3 cups whole)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, for the pan
- 1 cup plain unsweetened plain almond milk or cow’s milk*
- ¼ cup heavy cream*
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- ½ cup (62 grams) all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour**
- Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat (or pour melted butter into a 9.5-inch glass pie plate). Gently swirl the skillet or pie plate so the butter coats the sides of the pan. Remove the skillet from the heat and place the fruit in an even layer across the base of the pan (watch out for hot butter splatters). Set it aside.
- In a blender, combine the milk, cream, ⅓ cup sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, salt, and flour. Blend at medium speed until smooth and frothy, about 30 seconds, pausing to scrape down the sides if necessary.
- Pour the batter over the fruit. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar on top.
- Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes (I usually bake for 45 minutes in cast iron or closer to 50 minutes in a pie plate), until the top is golden and puffed. Let it cool to a safe temperature before serving—it’s lovely warm, though I like it even more at room temperature (expect it to deflate as it cools), or even chilled. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired. Leftovers will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
Recipe created with references to David Lebovitz, Once Upon a Chef and The New York Times.
*Milk notes: Any milk will do in place of almond milk. You can substitute whole milk for the milk and heavy cream (use 1 ¼ cup total) for a similar fat content, but if you plan to make whipped cream, you’ll need the heavy cream anyway.
**Flour notes: I generally try to bake with whole grain flours, but this recipe doesn’t call for much, and I prefer the texture and flavor of the all-purpose here since it lets the other flavors shine. Whole wheat pastry flour worked fine with the berries, but the cherries sunk into the batter rather than floating on top when I used it. I haven’t tried this recipe with a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend, but suspect it would work well.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Can frozen berries be used?
Hi Katherine, I think so. I would thaw the berries first and drain off any excess liquid before using.
Kate,
Love everything you create. Can I use almond flour instead of all purpose or wheat flour?
Thank you,
L. Casper
Hello, I haven’t tried this with almond or gluten free flour blend. Almond flour would require some adjustments and testing, but I believe that a 1:1 gluten free blend would work.
In the clafoutis can zi use frozen berries
I like your recipes
Thank u muchly Margaret
Hi Margaret, I think you could if you thaw the berries and drain off excess liquid before using. Please let me know if you try it!
Hi Kate! Can you use frozen cherries?
Hi Lauren, I think you could. I would thaw the cherries first and drain off any liquid before using.
I’ve been making clafoutis for years. When I started eating keto years ago, I modified a recipe similar to yours for keto.
Fine Almond Flour works as a substitute for wheat flour. I use 75g. I use an erythritol blend, MonkSweet Plus, 50g as a sub for the sugar.
I use 6 oz of unsweetened almond milk and 2 oz of heavy whipping cream.
I always use frozen fruit, without thawing or draining. Just dump the 12 oz of frozen fruit in a buttered 9 inch ceramic pie plate.
I use a 350°F preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, on the middle rack.
It tastes great. I prefer it cold with one ounce of heavy whipping cream.
Hope this helps with those questions your weren’t able to answer.
Hi Elaine, thanks for sharing!
I don’t have access to fresh cherries. Do you think frozen cherries would work?
Hi Jean, I think so! I would thaw them and drain off any liquid before using.
Hi Kate,
What if you don’t have a cast iron anything?
Hi Julie! You can use a pie plate. I also tested the recipe in a 9.5-inch glass pie plate, and it worked great.
Looks yummy. Seems like a type of Dutch Baby pancakes.
Yes, it’s very much like a Dutch baby!
Can you use frozen berries/cherries/peaches with the same results?
Hi Rebecca! That’s a good question. I didn’t test the recipe with frozen fruit, but my best guess is that you could use thawed fruit if you drain off excess water before using. Please let me know if you try it!
This looks wonderful. I make quince clafoutis every year for Thanksgiving because I have a very prolific quince tree. The recipe I’ve developed is much like yours, but I add a bit of lemon and cinnamon. I can’t wait to try your berry version.
Charlotte, your quince version sounds amazing! I wish I had access to fresh quince to try it.
Is it possible to use a different sweetener for the sugar in this recipe? Thanks!
Hi Leslie, you could try, but I’m afraid a liquid sweetener would make the texture too wet or soggy. Let me know if you try one.
This looks fantastic! Making!!!!! I’ll let you know!
Thanks so much, Nancy! Looking forward to hearing how it turns out.
Sounds delicious and very much like Betty Crackers Impossibly Easy Berry Pie. A simpler version is to use pancake mix for the topping. I wonder who thought up Betty’s recipe – a French chef long ago? Thanks for sharing your versatile recipe.
Hi Kate,
Do you think that rhubarb could work in this recipe? I have an abundance in my garden right now…
Hi Ella, I have several rhubarb recipes to try! I haven’t tested this with rhubarb, though. It would need some adjustments.
You can definitely use rhubarb, in fact rhubarb claufoutis is a classic French dish. As Kate says, it would need adjusting (more sugar especially). The rhubarb can go in raw and chopped, so it’s an easy substitution.
Seeing all the questions about frozen fruit, I must add that I used frozen blueberries with the ripe strawberries and I didn’t even bother to let them thaw first and drain off the liquid. And it’s still excellent— a little runny on first taking it out of the oven, but by the time it cooled it was nice and custardy — in a good way.
Can I use coconut or almond flour? Can I use another sweetener, such as Monkfruit or erythritol?
Excited to try this recipe!
Hi Kathy, I haven’t tried any of those substitutions, but I’m not confident they’ll work out well. This recipe is already a delicate balance. Coconut flour absorbs a ton of moisture, whereas almond flour absorbs very little, and regular flour absorbs a medium amount. I don’t have any experience with alternate sweeteners, but if you give one a try, please report back.
Would love to make this but steer clear of granulated sugar. Can I use pure maple syrup?
Hi Cheryl, I also try to minimize my use of granulated sugar, but this one calls for quite a low amount given the number of servings. I am afraid that maple syrup would add too much moisture and throw off the texture quite a bit.
Looks amazing. I’m on a diet, trying to loose 30-40 pounds. I Need to eat less fat. What do you think about substituting the 1/4 cup of cream with low fat or non fat greek yogurt?
(Would love to substitute some all purpose flour with sourdough discard too.)
Hi there! The fat in the cream offers a lovely richness but I would be curious to hear how yogurt turns out. I bet the tang would be nice. I don’t have any experience substituting sourdough discard—I think you’d need to decrease some moisture in the recipe, so there’s a chance you could just omit the cream at that point, but I’m just guessing out loud here. Please report back if you try either of these substitutions!
Can you use honey in place of the refined sugar?
Hi Jennifer, I’m afraid not. I haven’t tried, but honey would increase the moisture content quite a bit, and the mixture is already pretty wet so it might turn out soggy. Honey also browns more quickly than sugar and would impart a significant amount of competing flavor. I love to use natural sweeteners when I can, but I was happy to share a low-sugar dessert (this one calls for 1/3 cup for 8 servings, which is not a lot compared to a regular cake). Hope that helps.
Thanks ;)
I don’t have an Iron pan, but I do have a Le Creuset pot. It’s 11 inches wide and 5 inches deep. Will that be OK?
Thank you, I enjoy your web site.
~Anna
Hi Anna, good question! It might work great. Your clafoutis turn out a little thinner than mine and might bake a bit more quickly. I know this recipe works well in a 9.5-inch glass pie plate, if you have one of those.
I am going to make this this morning.. only have frozen berries but I see they work as well… I will use my stoneware pie that I use for breadpudding. Also, no heavy cream or whole mile, so I will try using canned Evaporated milk ,undiluted.
I will let you all know how this turns out. Thanks Kate, I use a lot of your recipes.
Hi Katherine, I made the Clafoutis today with the strawberries and blueberries. My husband and I had it for dessert for lunch. It was awesome, and we loved the taste of the custard along with the cake and fruit. Another plus, it is super easy to make! This will be my new summer dessert!
Great recipe Katherine! I have a family member who doesn’t like almond flavor can I just use more vanilla?
That should be fine.
What a delightful recipe to start the summer. It’s not difficult or time consuming. I see this as a go-to for many opportunities to “wow” our guests.
I used stevia for baking and substituted coconut milk for heavy cream. I wanted to make it keto. I didn’t dare mess with the flour. Has anyone tried almond or coconut flour? I also used coconut extract as I was out of almond.
Changes out of necessity: Used half & half instead of heavy cream, and an 8″ cast iron pan but it worked. The clafoutis looked like it was going to overflow but then it settled in. We also used whole wheat flour. My husband made the clafoutis and I made your vegan lentil soup with kale. A very yummy day (just caught my hubby eating the clafoutis out of the pan on the stove!). Thank you for the low sugar added recipes, I’m diabetic and this dessert was perfect.
Katherine, I asked my husband if he would like to make this simple dessert and he did? He used fresh blue berries, black berries and raspberries and white flour.
I made my own whipped cream and voila we had a new delicious easy dessert.
Kathryne Taylor commented the base has a texture of Dutch Baby. Now I know how to describe the texture.
Thank you
I love your recipes! Would it be possible to replace the cream with yogurt?
Hi Laura, I recommend making the recipe as written.
This looked way too good to pass up, so I made it today. It was insanely easy to make, but had the bonus of looking like it might have been more complicated, so would probably score big points if making for company! It puffed up so high, I got a bit worried it might burn, but it turned out just fine. Thanks so much for sharing this one Kate, its truly delicious!
Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing how it worked for you. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Just made and eaten this clafoutis. Really delicious.
Wow this was absolutely delicious. We had a “gourmet meal” for breakfast on a boat is how it was described to me!! Considering how fast and easy this was, I didn’t let on!!!!!
Thank you for what you do, love this
This was so tasty! I made it gluten free (I use Better Batter flour) and used frozen blueberries (thawed first). The berries did sink but not sure which of those changes was a factor. But it was delicious. We ate it for breakfast though! ;)
Wow this was so delicious and amazingly easy!!! Definitely a keeper and can’t wait to give it a second go!!!!
Hooray! Thanks Arlene!
We live in the mountains in California so our snow is late to melt. We always have spring along with our summer fruits that come to the farmer’s market! I invited the neighbors for ice cream and Clafoutis. I made it with blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. I may have added a bit too much fruit but everyone raved out the Clafoutis including the kids. Another hit! Thank you!
Nancy, I’m so glad you all enjoyed the clafoutis! It sounds like you enjoyed it with good company in a beautiful setting, and you can’t beat that!
This was so easy to make and delicious!
Thanks for this recipe, Kate. I made this with fresh raspberries and used unsweetened almond milk, subbing the heavy cream with coconut yogurt, and also used gluten-free flour and coconut sugar decreased to 1/4 cup. Despite the substitutions to lighten the load, all diners (including me) loved it. A tasty light dessert!
Hi Cheryl, thank you for sharing your experience with the modifications. Other readers often find those helpful.
I love your recipes being easy to make. I mainly cook Indian food, my passion but getting into cooking other foods especially sweet dishes. I used a corning casserole dish, tried making this and it came out a little doughy at the bottom as it all settled down. is it possible to cut the white flour portion to make it less doughy?
Thanks for sharing your recipes
Hi there! Thank you for your note. The clafoutis is somewhat custard-like so the texture you’re describing sounds right to me. If you want it less moist and more cakey, I would actually increase the flour (less flour makes it more wet).
Used 1.25 cups full fat oat milk instead of milk and cream. Worked great. Super tasty outcome with strawberries
I’m glad to hear it, Bill! Thank you for sharing your results.
Deeeeeelish! It has become a must have at family meals.
Hooray! Happy to hear it, Edith!
It seemed easy to make but is it supposed to be a bit jiggly? Or is it not done???
I made it in a pie plate. Was I supposed to dry off the fruit?
Hi Carol! It’s hard to say without seeing it myself. Did you bake it in a glass pie plate for the full 50 minutes? That’s how long mine needed. I hope it set as it cooled, and tasted great regardless.
This was good! Even with my modifications for a lighter dessert. I used fresh cherries, vegan butter, coconut yogurt instead of cream and 1/4 cup coconut sugar. Gluten-free flour worked well. My guests loved it too! While I cannot have your Basque cheesecake, this Clafoutis is a winner. Thank you!
As always, very good and this one is easy! For reference, I used one cup of 2% cow’s milk, and 1/4 cup of what is known over here (and I guess the States) of 1/2 and 1/2, which is 10%MF. My pan is bigger, 12 inches. My oven runs hotter I guess as I often reduce the baking time than what is suggested. I baked it for 30 mins, then left overnight to cool. Making another one now! I am having trouble with my laptop and when I enter 5 stars, it won’t stick, but definitely 5 stars
This sounds sooooo delicious! I’m unfortunately diary-free so I’m wondering if you have any suggestions on how to substitute for the heavy cream that I could try? Not expecting you to know for certain but any realistic tips would be helpful. Thanks and keep these great fruit recipes coming!
Coconut oil, olive oil, or vegan butter would all likely work for the butter, and you could try your preferred non-dairy milk for the heavy cream. I would try cashew or almond. The results won’t be quite as luxurious and rich, but it will still be tasty. I’m glad you enjoy the fruit-forward recipes!
I made it for the 2nd time last night and also a 5 star review last night. My partner ate 1/2 of it this morning. If anyone doubles it in an attempt to make a bigger amount, please let me know! I am kind of wondering if I can use a cookie sheet if doubled. I’d love to take it to work and share.
Just removed from the oven!!! Smells amazing. Can’t wait to try
Kate, another home run! I’ve made this 3 times already, I’m a big fan of almond extract! I used fresh cherries and fresh peach slices, great flavor and texture. I tried both cast iron and ceramic pie plate which made serving a little easier! I’m so grateful for all the amazing recipes you’ve shared…
Hi Patty, I’m so glad you enjoyed this! The combination of fresh cherries and peaches sounds delightful.