When my aunt Alice was married to a German and living in Germany she had a cherry tree in her backyard. I was about six when we got our first mysterious box of chocolate covered cherries from her. I was very excited to eat some candy... not really caring where it was from... when my mom opened the box much to my dismay it was filled with fresh whole cherries.
"Oh, how wonderful, my mom exclaimed, these are from Alice's tree. Real cherries from Germany."
"But, why are they in a chocolate box?"
"Probably to fool customs."
I didn't know what that meant. All I knew was that someone in Germany got to eat a box of chocolates and I wasn't going to get any of them.
Shortly after we received the box of cherries my aunt Alice sent my mom an alarming letter. She was certain that her mother-in-law was trying to kill her. You see, she baked a cherry pie for Alice. When Alice bit into the pie she almost lost a tooth.
"She didn't take the pits out. Who bakes a cherry pie with pits? I'm telling you she means me harm."
Dorie says it is a belief that it keeps the flavor of the cherries better. How so? This sounds like a wives tale or better yet an excuse that a lazy baker came up with...
The only benefit of keeping the pits in the cherries is aesthetic. It looks nice, but I'm with Alice, I would rather not break a tooth.
As for the clafoutis itself... well I loved how simple it was to whip up... especially because I used my mixer after reading about how much whisking Dorie wanted me to do by hand. Again what's the point? Is it to be old-fashioned... I'm just not the sentimental type.
The dessert got mixed reviews. I think the sugar and salt both need to be tweaked. I would have preferred at least a full teaspoon of salt in it, and an additional 1/8 cup of sugar. I put half the amount of cherries that was recommended, and I'm glad I did. I liked the balance of custard to cherries that I had in my pie. But all this tweaking wouldn't have mattered to my husband who just didn't like the texture. It was odd, not really a cake, not really a custard... but my daughter and I had no problem with it, and no teeth were lost.
Note: As a member of French Friday's with Dorie I am not allowed to print the recipe. I invite you to take a look at this wonderful cookbook "Around My French Table" if you are interested in this or any other recipe I review.
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That's funny story LOL (I'm still laughing....)
ReplyDeleteThis cherry-clafoutis looks delicious!!
I'm heading over to check the recipe
Thanks!!
Thanks Winnie,
DeleteAs you might have guess my aunt didn't last too long in Germany.
I agree - when I make clafoutis, I always take out the cherries.
ReplyDeleteFun story though! And I would much rather have the box of cherries than the chocolates :-)
These days I would go for the cherries but when your six... chocolates win out.
DeleteGreat photos! I love baking and cooking with cherries :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ann I've really been trying to improve my photography.
Deletethe story is so funny. and i thought only Indian women suspect their in-laws of evil intent all the time ;-)
ReplyDeletethe photographs are really nice. though we liked the dessert, we too felt the need for some extra sugar in it.
I think the fear of mother-in-laws is universal.. lol. Good to hear someone else thought it needed to be a little sweeter.
DeleteJust love your story about the cherries and chocolates, Diane. Yeah, at 6, I can feel your pain. Not a fair trade-off, that's for sure. It seems sorta nuts to not remove the pits, in my opinion. I can't imagine serving clafoutis with pits at a dinner party or family affair? Even if I warned everyone, I'd still worry with every bite. I get nervous now making food for people I don't know - there are so many allergies out there. The clafoutis was sweet enough for me - you're right about it not being very sweet at all, but I liked that. Julia uses twice the sugar. Next time I am using my mixer.
ReplyDeleteI guess Europeans like to live on the dangerous side and I know they aren't as into their teeth as us Americans... LOL.
DeleteMy own family has all kinds of food allergies, me wheat, son lactose intolerance and my daughter is allergic to nuts... What is up with our bodies and our food?
Oh no! Sorry to hear it wasn't a hit. I liked it very much, but I am with you on the pits. I went along with Dorie this time because I needed to use the unpitted cherries in my freezer to have enough fruit, but I don't think it adds much.
ReplyDeleteI think might look pretty those whole round cherries when you cut into the clafoutis... I don't really get it.
DeleteI prefer chocolate over cherries anytime. Hubby is lucky I even buy cherries. Your clafoutis looks very custardy??, mine
ReplyDeletehad a bit too much fruit in my opinion. Have a great weekend.
I used half the amount of cherries she said to use. I'm not a big fan of cooked fruit. Though I think chocolate and cherries are wonderful together.
DeleteGreat story to go along with your wonderful clafoutis! I agree with you about the pits…I also removed them. I was serving mine to company and was not about to take a chance on someone choking or breaking a tooth! Have a great weekend, Diane!
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think a like... my kids have barely gotten their adult teeth in I don't want them to loose them so soon. Lets face it, the French don't care very much about teeth.
DeleteSo funny! I love it when recipes bring back these memories! Duh. lol. I was very daring. I left the pits in because I loved that idea and it gives one 'talking points' when presenting a desert. I actually ALSO brought it to work to share. I also left some of my husband's business cards on the table. He's a dentist.
ReplyDeleteSinister.
DeleteLOL what a cute story to go with a beautiful dessert! AT least you know what you might change next time! Maybe you can try the bonne idee? :)
ReplyDeleteI think you're right the bonne idee is definitely a custard and that might make my husband happier.
DeleteYour perfectly baked Whole-Cherry Clafoutis looks wonderful although this does not seem to have been such a huge success after all.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend!
Thanks Andrea,
DeleteYes, it was enjoyed, but not loved.
I usually leave the cherries whole, as I love the burst of juice that comes when I bite (carefully) into one. It doesn't really make much difference to the recipe, though. I love the story about your aunt!
ReplyDeleteNow at least you have a genuine culinary reason to leave in the pits. Not good enough to convert me, but better than what Dorie offered. Thanks.
DeleteI enjoyed your story Diane! Both tales made me laugh:) We enjoyed the clafoutis, pits and all but I wouldn't leave them in again!
ReplyDeleteIt was great of you to dare go whole cherry.
DeleteFunny story. I pitted mine, no reason to have sous chef think there is malicious intent on my part! Your photos are very lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you Christy... I particularly like this pics too, but I am also just very found of looking at cherries. Glad you had a safe dessert.
DeleteThe texture is hard to describe, and my husband expected it to be more custardy based on how I described it to him. He seemed to like it anyway! Yours looks delicious! I like the idea of getting more of the custard/cake in each bite.
ReplyDeleteThis lazy baker was happy to take Dorie up on her whole cherry idea. Done in a snap! But then again, I'm a big fan of those chocolate covered cherries with the pits in. Delicious either way though, I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteI guess you like to live on the edge..LOL.
DeleteGreat story. Now fresh cherries are one of my favorite foods, but as a kid I would have been so disappointed about the lack of chocolate!
ReplyDeleteIt must have been a really big disappointment because I still remember it.
DeleteWhat a horrible thing to do to a child. But very funny....
ReplyDeleteClafoutis looks good to me. I loved how simple it was.
Definitely a bummer at the time, but in retrospect it does make for a good story.
DeleteThanks so much for sharing your awesome recipe with Full Plate Thursday. Have a great weekend and hope to see you soon!
ReplyDeleteMiz Helen
Cute story about your aunt. I was making this for myself, so I left the pits in, but if I were sharing, pits out. Too complicated to be sure to offer a warning.
ReplyDeleteEspecially since we aren't accustom to pits in desserts in the US... I would think even if you kept reminding guests someone would end up chipping a tooth.
DeleteThat's just gorgeous Diane. I nearly always make a clafoutis every winter but haven't done so yet. I'll have to give you recipe a try. Thanks for linking up. I'm featuring this one tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAnne xx
Thanks so much for featuring it Anne. I never made a clafoutis before and I love how easy it is to make.
DeleteOh Dianne, I can just imagine the disappointment at that age. But I must say, this recipe looks amazing. Putting it on my list of things to make!
ReplyDeleteI hope you give it a try... I think a little more sugar makes it better but it was really easy to make and really different.
Delete