clafoutis designates a rustic cherry flan or tart. See flan (tart). Larousse gastronomique describes clafoutis as a thick fruit pancake. It is a specialty of the Limousin region in central and southwest France and features the region’s black cherries. In the Occitan language, the old language of the south of France, the word “clafotis” means “to fill”; this may be the origin of “clafoutis.” A clafoutis is made by putting the cherries directly on the bottom of a buttered, sugared tart dish and pouring a thick crêpe or pancake batter over them. When the clafoutis is baked, the batter browns and the tops of the cherries are just visible as dark red dots on the surface. The top can be dusted with confectioner’s sugar once the flan cools slightly. It is served warm or cold. Some cooks insist that for a true clafoutis the cherries must not be pitted, but few recipes advise this.
