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This Gluten-Free Cherry Clafoutis makes the most of cherry season. It’s a quick dessert, made even more delicious with the use of gluten-free flours (with no xanthan gum needed) and a plant based milk which makes the recipe dairy-free too.
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​If you are looking for an easy recipe which makes the most of seasonal sweet cherries then you'll love this baked custard dessert packed with whole cherries. This version doesn't steer too far from a traditional cherry clafoutis except we use two gluten-free flours in place of regular flour (oat flour and sweet rice flour) and I like to use a plant based milk instead of whole milk to make it dairy free.
What Is Clafoutis?
Clafoutis is a classic french dessert of whole cherries baked in a single layer encased in a thick custard with eggs, sugar, milk and a little flour.
Many modern recipes add other mixed berries to the batter as well so it can be quite versatile if you have lots of fresh fruit to use up. It's the easiest dessert for lazy summer days when you don't really feel like making an elaborate pudding.
Should You Pit The Cherries For Clafoutis?
There was a bit of banter on the recipes during my research over whether to pit or not to pit the cherries. It wasn’t much of a battle for me though as I am head over heels for my cherry pitter plus the fear of cracking a tooth whilst I’m supposed to be treating myself seemed unfair punishment.
Also we have four children under 7 so 'to pit' is the child friendly option. It’s true that the cherry pits can add an extra layer of flavour, intensifying the almondy tang of the cherries but I’ve made up for that by using other ultra flavourful ingredients.
Why You'll Love This Cherry Clafoutis
- So quick and easy. The cherries are just slung into a baking dish, the custard batter is whisked together in five minutes then it’s baked.
- Incredible flavour.
- Easy to make ahead as it is best served at room temperature.
- Gluten-Free. The flours used in this recipe are sweet rice flour (aka glutinous rice flour) and oat flour (no almond flour so its suitable for nut allergies).
- Dairy-free. We make this clafoutis with coconut milk which gives it a lovely coconut background flavour.
Ingredients Needed
Fresh cherries. I use whatever is in season. Black cherries are usually available in August in the UK.
Sweet rice flour (glutinous rice flour). This is a delicate white starchy flour which is useful in gluten-free baking because of its ability to create soft and elastic baked goods. It gives good results within the flour blend because it helps bind the mix together so the buns have a little bounce and are not dry and crumbly.
Oat flour. This wholegrain flour has a mild, buttery flavour and is useful in gluten-free baking for its ability to add moisture and texture to baked goods. It’s used here for fluffiness and flavour. That toasted butterscotch taste is a great backdrop for the recipe. Make sure it is certified gluten-free.
Flour substitutions: you can swap the oat flour for sorghum flour. You could also use my Homemade Flour Blend instead both the sweet rice flour and the oat flour.
Fresh lemon zest. Make sure the lemon is unwaxed as we'll only be using the zest (hey - you could also use lemon powder if you've jumped on that bandwagon!)
Vanilla extract. Use a good quality extract, I like Nielsen Massey.
Coconut milk (tinned - not the drink). If the flavour of coconut is too strong for you then you can use any other plant milk. Oat milk, almond milk and cashew milk all work well and are lighter alternatives.
Brown sugar. Gives lovely gentle molasses flavour and moisture.
Eggs. This recipe uses medium size, about 60g each with shell (50g each without shell). These are often classified as large eggs in the US. I recommend weighing your eggs to ensure the correct amount.
Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.
Icing sugar (powdered sugar). To dust over the top.
How To Make Gluten-Free Clafoutis
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.Â
- Lay pitted cherries in a baking dish.
- Whisk the flours together with the sugar and salt and whisk in the eggs.
- Stir together the lemon zest, vanilla extract and coconut milk then pour into the rest of the batter whisking well until smooth.
- Pour over the cherries then bake for 35-40 minutes until the clafoutis is set but still a little wobbly in the centre.
- Allow to cool to room temperature and dust with icing sugar before serving.
How To Serve Clafoutis
This dessert is best served at room temperature and is delicious by itself or with a generous pour of cold cream. It's also delicous with a handsome dollop of ice cream. Since this is a deliberately dairy-free cherry clafoutis then I would possibly go for a dairy-free coconut ice cream but it’s up to you. If there is no accompaniment to hand, then I can vouch that this dessert is perfectly acceptable naked with just a light dusting of icing sugar. It’s really all about the cherries anyway.
Variations
You can make a traditional clafoutis with just about any of the stone fruits or fresh berries. Next time why not try:
- Fresh Raspberry Clafoutis.
- Blueberry Clafoutis.
- Apricot Clafoutis.
- Plum Clafoutis.
More Gluten-Free Cherry Recipes You'll Love
✨Have you tried this Gluten-Free Clafoutis? If you liked it, please leave a 5-star ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨
Gluten-Free Cherry Clafoutis (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 500 g cherries
- 30 g sweet rice flour - glutinous rice flour
- 20 g gluten-free oat flour
- 75 g soft light brown sugar
- pinch of sea salt
- 3 medium eggs - lightly beaten
- zest of ½ lemon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250 g coconut milk
- 1-2 teaspoons icing sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted / gas mark 4 / 350°F and grease a 25cm baking dish with coconut oil or baking spray.
- Remove the stalks from cherries and pit them, then lay them into the greased dish in one layer.
- Whisk the flours together with the sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and whisk in the eggs until thick and smooth.
- Stir together the lemon zest, vanilla extract and coconut milk in a large measuring jug then pour into the egg mixture whisking well until smooth.
- Pour the batter over the cherries then bake for 35-40 minutes until the clafoutis is set but still a little wobbly in the centre.
- Allow to cool to room temperature then sprinkle icing sugar over the top.
Notes
Ingredient measurements
- Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
Marge says
With cherries being seasonal & wanting to enjoy this in off-season, could frozen cherries be used?
Georgina Hartley says
Yes they certainly can!
Gill says
Hi Georgina,
I love cherries and am thinking of making this when guests come dinner on Sunday. I only have the one oven, so will be cooking roast potatoes and Yorkshire puds, which I’d cook on a higher heat.
I’d like to serve your pud warm, so would this stand up to a quick re-heat in the microwave okay (if made earlier)? I thought about trying to keep warm with foil but suspect it would create too much moisture and make it soggy.
Any advice, on this one, please?
Thank you!
Georgina Hartley says
Yes you can re-heat in the microwave. It depends on how much you are microwaving at once but in portions about 30 seconds would be enough.
Gill says
Thank you for that. Frustratingly, I couldn’t find enough fresh cherries, last weekend but I tried your Apple Crumble recipe instead. I commented under that recipe, to say how lovely that turned out. It was delicious.
Cormac Bakewell says
I made this a few years ago and I seem to remember using glutinous rice flour (I definitely remember jumping through hoops of fire to find glutinous rice flour for something!).
Could that be correct and, if so, would it be possible to get the old recipe?
Georgina Hartley says
Hi Cormac, glutinous rice flour and sweet rice flour are exactly the same flour - they just go by two different names (oh and you can also buy it as mochiko flour for extra confusion). So rest assured this is the same recipe!
Cormac Bakewell says
Perfect - thank you, Georgina!