Limousin Clafoutis / Cherry Batter Pudding

The Clafoutis is a traditional cake invented in Limousin. It is typically made by cooking fresh cherries and a batter into a baking dish. The name of this cake can also be spelt Clafouti but the spelling does not really matter as it is a great French product that is part of the regional gastronomy.

The name comes from the word clafotís that means "to fill up" in Occitan (to fill up the batter with cherries in this case). This cake's recipe spread in France during the 19th century and is now a classic cake as renowned as the famous Brittany specialities like the Breton far, crêpes and galettes for example.

The traditional Clafoutis cake is made using cherries. Other fruits can be used, but in this case this popular cake is not a Clafoutis anymore but a Flognarde. The true Limousin Clafoutis is also cooked with the stones left inside the cherries, giving much more flavour to the cake during the baking process.

Using apples in the clafoutis (in the flognarde in fact) is a more and more common usage these days in Limousin, especially with the growing success of the regional apple speciality.

Typing the word 'clafoutis' in any search engine will allow you to see that the success of the Clafoutis cake has been immediate and global: hundreds of Clafoutis recipes exist, being in fact Flognardes since they are made with tomatoes, rhubarb, pears, apples, blackberries, strawberries, chocolate, courgettes, onion, raspberries, Parma ham, tuna, etc.

In the areas of France where the Creole language is spoken (mainly Guyana, French department located in Latin America near Brazil, and also in the Martinique, Guadeloupe and Reunion islands), pineapple Clafouti can also be found. Fancy a slice?