So it’s cherry season which is always exciting for me! Mostly because during the rest of the year cherries cost eleventy-billion dollars, but they are practically giving them away at the stores near us right now!
I’ve always loved fresh cherries, though I really hate pitting them – making this handy dandy cherry pitting tool a lifesaver! Don’t get me wrong, I can do it with a knife, I just end up with purple stained hands for days that have people looking at me sideways out in public wondering if I just committed a gruesome felony.
Other people just smile and nod – they know what’s up.
Cherries – that’s what.
Even if you are really low carb or keto, cherries can fit into your diet plan in moderation. They aren’t much higher in sugar than fresh berries, and because they are so packed with flavor, a little goes a long way in low carb dessert recipes.
Speaking of recipes, I don’t cook with cherries that much because I just love eating them raw. I did make this Paleo Cherry Crisp a couple of years ago that’s still very popular on the blog though. If you haven’t tried it I recommend it – super easy to throw together at a moment’s notice, and it tastes amazing with low carb vanilla ice cream!
One cherry-based recipe that I’ve always wanted to try was Cherry Clafoutis. Mostly because I like the name. If you’ve never heard it pronounced, you say Clafoutis like this (kla-FOO-tee.) See? It even sounds fun.
The French eat Cherry Clafoutis for dessert and sometimes even breakfast, which is a tradition I can absolutely get behind!
Until now I’d been enthralled by the name Cherry Clafoutis, but had never actually made the dish. So I remedied that situation last week. The end result was so much better than I’d expected from the descriptions I’d read and the photos I’d seen! It has a glossy, not quite crisp exterior, with an almost custard-like interior – yet it’s firm enough to pick up when chilled.
Having never made traditional Cherry Clafoutis before, I started with this recipe from Saveur as my base, but took quite a few liberties with it to make my low carb and gluten free version.
There is a significant amount of vanilla in here that I thought might be too much, but it definitely wasn’t, so make sure to use it all – it’s not a typo. The intense vanilla flavor makes the custard heavenly. I added some cherry extract too, but almond would also work to round it out I think.
There are so many things to love about this recipe, but one of my favorites is that you literally throw all of the ingredients (except the cherries) in the blender until smooth, pour it into a buttered pan, toss your cherries on top and bake it for around half an hour.
It makes the entire house smell fantastic, and when it comes out of the oven it’s equally delicious warm or cold (if you can wait that long.)
Mr. Hungry LOVED this recipe – there were none of the usual “it’s good but it would taste better with real sugar and flour” comments. He was too busy rummaging through the fridge to find his emergency can of whipped cream to put on top of his second helping – which he followed up with by finishing it all for breakfast the next day. That’s how I know this one is a real keeper.
Unfortunately I only had a bite or two because I’m avoiding dairy and eggs right now and this has both. Those two bites were total bliss though!
Another thing I love about this recipe is how versatile it is in the sense that you can make it in one large pan, mini skillets for two to share, or in individual serving sizes in a muffin pan.
This is seriously the most perfect brunch recipe ever – it keeps well in the fridge if you need to make it ahead, and even if you don’t it’s so easy to make that you can decide to whip it up last minute and have it served in no time. And if you are buying up tons of cherries you can pit and halve them, then freeze them to have ready any time you get a craving for this.
Once you try it, I have a feeling you’re going to be craving it A LOT.
Don’t have cherries around, or eleventy-billion dollars to buy them out of season? No worries, you can put berries or other fruits in the same clafoutis base with excellent results! Which is giving me some fun ideas for future versions.
Time to CLAFOUTIS ALL OF THE THINGS!
Cherry Clafoutis – Low Carb and Gluten Free
- Yield: 8 servings or 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: French
Description
This fantastic (and super easy) low carb and gluten free recipe is based on the classic French dessert and can even be eaten for breakfast or brunch! Keto, LCHF, and Atkins diet friendly!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp salted butter
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (vanilla flavored if you can get it)
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar substitute (I used this brand)
- 1/2 tsp cherry extract (I used this brand)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- pinch of kosher salt
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup almond flour (I used this brand)
- 1.5 cups fresh cherries, pitted and halved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F.)
- Use the butter to grease a 9 or 10″ cast iron pan or baking dish, or a large (12) muffin pan (or two 6 muffin pans.)
- Combine the almond milk, heavy cream, sweetener, cherry extract, vanilla extract, xanthan gum, salt, and eggs in a blender and blend for about 10 seconds.
- Add the almond flour and blend for an additional 30 seconds or until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the pan or muffin tins.
- Spread the cherries, cut side up evenly over the top of the batter.
- Bake for 18 – 20 minutes if making 4″ muffins (or until set & a knife in the center comes out clean.)
- Bake for 35 minutes if making in one large pan (or until set & a knife in the center comes out clean.)
- Serve warm or chilled.
Notes
To see a list of my favorite low carb products and brands that I recommend for sweeteners, flours, etc. you can check out the IBIH Pantry Ingredients Page!
Approximate nutrition information per serving:
Slice from pan (1/8th): 194 calories, 15g fat, 6g net carbs, 8g protein
One “muffin” (1/12th): 129 calories, 10g fat, 4g net carbs, 6g protein
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This was absolutely amazing. Being that cherries are in season and sweet as can be all the ingredients were perfect. Thank you.
★★★★★
The absolute worst dessert I have ever tasted. I was going to make this for a group, tried it, and tossed it in the trash. My daughter hated the aftertaste, I hated its fluffy omelet-like consistency, and my husband (who eats everything) spit it out. Horrible.
★
I substituted the whipping cream for the same amount of coconut cream and used silicone cases to line the muffin tin and they turned out absolutely perfect! Highly recommend doing this if you need to be dairy free as no need for the butter (or anything else) to grease the tin!
Hi! I made this yesterday and it’s so tasty! It turned out really well! Clafoutis is eggy by nature, so I don’t mind that. I didn’t have any vanilla extract, so I used half a vanilla pod (seeds already used for another recipe) and blitzed it in pieces with the mixture. After blending I passed the mixture through a sieve to get rid of large vanilla pod pieces. Also, I didn’t have cherry extract, so I used a generous splash of Amaretto liqueur. Very pleased with the result, I will definitely be making this again. Thank you!
Do you think you can substitute anything for the cream? My daughter can’t have dairy. I figured I would put a butter substitute for the butter but wasn’t sure on the cream.
You can try almond or coconut milk!
So frozen cherries wouldn’t work? Maybe if I thawed & drained them first?
Thanks in advance!
This was absolutely delicious :-). I made mine with Fairlife whole milk instead of the almond milk, subbed lemon extract for the cherry and used a few fresh blackberries per muffin. The batter was pretty thin and the blackberries all sunk to the bottom but no worries. It did (and still does since cooled) have a slightly eggs texture to it rather than the more custard like texture I was looking forward to but I think I may have overcooked them slightly. Definitely a keeper. I can’t wait to try out more flavor combinations. You know, for science… I have a really great recipe for a jicima “apple” pie filling I think would be phenomenal with the vanilla flavor.
★★★★★
This was phenomenal. I’ve made blueberry clafoutis before, and I honestly could not tell any difference in texture. This had a lovely, souffle-like consistency to it. One of the things I’ve missed most about limiting carbohydrates has been replicating the textures of my favorite baked/breaded goods, and this does not disappoint. I used blackberries instead of cherries because that was what I had on hand, subbed almond extract for the cherry extract (felt that would work better with the blackberries, and specifically used erythritol for my sweetener. Because of the blackberries and possibly my choice of sweetener, this came out more tart and savory, with just a touch of sweetness. I think using naturally sweeter cherries and possibly more sugar substitute would solve this, but I actually enjoyed the subtle flavor this ended up having. This is definitely getting made again in my house!
★★★★★