Cherry (pan)cake

Torta di ciliegie
The cherry (pan)cake clafoutis originates in France, but the idea of a pancake batter baked in the oven with fresh fruit is worth adopting anywhere. The dessert can be whisked up in a jiffy with whatever fruit happens to be in season, such as grapes, peaches, apricots, raspberries, apples and pears, but the classic version is made with wild unstoned cherries.

Orthodox clafoutis cooks maintain that cherries taste better, when baked with the stone, but I’m afraid of tooth breaking, and chose to pit mine (the olive pitter worked just fine). I honestly don’t think I would have been able to tell the difference between pit and no pit in a blind tasting.

Ingredients
250 g cherries
4 eggs
1 dl sugar
1 stick of vanilla
1 dl flour
3 tbsp melted butter
2½ dl milk
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preparation
Clean (and pit?) the cherries
Whisk eggs white with sugar. Add vanilla grains (or the finely chopped vanilla stick).
Mix with flour, melted butter and milk.
Pour the batter in a greased baking dish, cover with cherries and bake at 190 C (375 F) for 40-50 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Allow the cake to cool for 5 minutes and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Cherry clafoutis should be served warm.