Hi friends! Cherry season is here and I present you my vegan cherry clafoutis recipe! This is one of the easiest French recipes you can make and with its fancy French name and gorgeous appearance it’s certain to be a crowd pleaser!
Clafoutis, quite simply, is a baked flan consisting of LOTS of cherries baked in a sweet rich batter.
I love any recipe that packs a punch either in flavour or in richness and this does both! Also, not everyone is familiar with clafoutis (I wasn’t until last year) so anyone that tries this version may be trying this type of dessert for the first time so hopefully they will fall in love with it and won’t ever need to try the non-vegan version!
*Fun fact: a traditional clafoutis contains the pits of the cherries because the pits contain benzaldehyde which apparently is the active chemical found in almond extract (adding a complementary note) to the overall dish flavour! Don’t eat the cherry bits though because they’ll break your teeth and they also contain amygdalin which creates cyanide…
I prefer to leave the pits in as it prevents the cherry juices from leaking everywhere but if you’re serving this to kids or a large group it might be better to pit the cherries and just add an extra drop of almond extract instead.
…onto the recipe!
For this recipe you’ll need a tart tin/baking dish approximately 26-28cm in diameter and a food processor.
Vegan Cherry Clafoutis
A deliciously creamy custard-based tart designed to elevate the vibrant flavours and juices of cherries! Best made during cherry season!
Ingredients
- 400g cherries
- 350g silken tofu
- 180ml soy milk (or soy cream for richer flavour)
- 120g caster sugar
- 120g plain flour (or oat/rice flour for GF version!)
- 80g almond flour
- 20g cornstarch (or any other starch – potato, tapioca, etc.)
- 25g vegan butter (+extra for greasing pan)
- 2tsp vanilla paste/extract
- 1tsp almond extract
- 1/2tsp salt
- 1 small lemon (zest and juice)
- (Optional) 1 tbsp Kirsch (cherry brandy)
Directions
- Step 1 Pre-heat oven to 170C.
- Step 2 Grease the baking dish with vegan butter.
- Step 3 Process the tofu with the plant milk thoroughly.
- Step 4 Once blended, sieve in the sugar, flours and corn starch.
- Step 5 Melt the butter in the microwave.
- Step 6 Add the butter, vanilla, almond extract and lemon zest to the tofu mix.
- Step 7 Blend for 1-2 minutes to get a smooth consistency. Be careful not to whip too much air into the batter as it will cause the clafoutis to puff up.
- Step 8 Pour the batter into the baking dish and spread out evenly.
- Step 9 Place all the cherries into the batter (pack in as many as you can!)
- Step 10 Sprinkle extra sugar lightly on top of the batter and put in the oven.
- Step 11 Bake for 40 minutes until puffed and golden!
- Step 12 A toothpick should come out relatively clean after poking.
When you say silken tofu, do you mean firm, soft, medium? We have a ton of options so I am always a little uncertain which firmness level authors are referring to.
Silken is a very soft type of tofu. Packages are specifically labeled “silken.”
At least in the US, silken tofu comes in varying firmness grades as well. I used extra firm silken for this and it worked beautifully.
Hi! Can I substitute the caster sugar with something else? Maple syrup? Or coconut flower sugar instead?
Hey! Yes you can use coconut sugar!
I made this and the recipe is perfect! I used small plums that had come in my oddbox instead of cherries and it turned out beautifully. It has an amazingly authentic texture and my friends were so impressed that it didn’t have any eggs in. I love it with a little more almond extract in because I love the marzipan taste and this worked really well with the plums. It was delicious served cold and sliced into enticing slabs. Thank you for the recipe and all the advice and inspiration you give on your instagram!
Hi Peggy! Thanks so much for the wonderful feedback. I love marzipan too so I always add a little extra almond extract too.
Made this scrummy bite today! Clafoutis is one of my favorite French classics…texture here was really nice. Added some nutritional yeast to bump up the umami, since there’s no egg. And also used some soy yogurt instead of milk to mimic the acidity of crème fraîche (from my non-vegan days of clafoutis-making). Thanks, Tom! X
Hey! Thanks so much for leaving a comment! Saw your clafoutis on instagram and it looked just perfect! Great idea using the yogurt and nutritional yeast.
Oh man, I’m used to grams and ml measurements but I didn’t catch that the oven temp was celsius. It’s going to cook some more at the right temp. wonder what’s going to happen…
Hi Julie! I think you’ll be fine as clafoutis doesn’t have any delicate chemistry going on – it’s just a flan-like filling with flour that needs to be cooked so turning it up and baking for the recommended time should save it. Good luck!
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Came out lovely, quite dense, I definitely had the oven temperature too low as it look longer and puffed little, but still a brilliant taste. I might add a smidgen of baking powder next time. I used lemon extract (1/2 tsp) instead of lemon zest as had no unwaxed lemons to hand and frozen dark cherries (why I baked this, needed the space in the freezer!) Goes well with creme fraiche with muscovado.
Hey! Thanks for the feedback! Yes lovely with creme fraiche! I was under the impression that clafoutis is supposed to be quite dense and flan-like! Although I am not French and have little experience with the egg-based version so I am open to feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed the flavour though 🙂
I made this today and it was excellent. It’s definitely different from what I usually bake (chocolate cake) and it’s rich. You have beautiful photos of your creation here.
Thank you so much! Appreciate the feedback 🙂
This was so delicious, thank for this amaizing recipe…even my dad that usually doesn’t like vegan desserts enjoyed it 😋😍🍒
Thank you so much!!