Summer spells an abundance of stone fruit like Cherries, Peaches and Plums in Ontario and have a fairly short season, which typically lasts a couple of months. Whilst the weather here in Toronto is warmer than usual, fruit picking and browsing by small farmers markets are a delightful activity. Last week we drove off with friends to the Niagara- On-The _Lake region.
We choose a weekday as it would be less busy and thought it best, given the fact that most public parks and beaches do tend to get crowded these days. This small town nestled at the southern most tip of Ontario sits on the shores of Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the Niagara river.
The ever so popular Shaw festival, beautiful tree lined streets, quaint 19th century architecture and home to several wineries that stretch along the Niagara river parkway, all making the region a popular day or weekend getaway from here in Toronto.
We choose the picturesque the Queens Royal park, which is a waterfront green area with small beaches, & a gazebo, along with picnic tables, benches. It turned out to be an idyllic spot for an afternoon picnic. After spending some time at the park we choose to drive to the Inniskillin winery in the region. Now whilst their patios is open for wine sampling, we choose to browse around the store and pick up some wine instead. I’ve always been curious about the Canadian ice wine and was interesting to discover some interesting facts whilst in conversation with the staff at the winery.
Ice wine is a sweet wine, essentially served with dessert or at the end of a meal, made from frozen grapes. Frozen grapes (still on the vines) are plucked and pressed whilst frozen.Ice wine varieties include Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Vidal Blanc and Merlot. A wine can only be labelled as “ice wine” if it is made from frozen grapes that were harvested from the vine.
Our next stop was at a local farmers market which seemed a buzz with activity and fresh local fruits. It is always a pleasure buying lovely farm fresh fruits from these lovely friendly vendors. I tend to buy tons of fruits during the summer. Thankfully when I’m not polishing off bowlfuls of berries they are turned into jams and compote. The previous visit to the berry farms got me into some serious jam making mode and lots of it too. A huge batch of strawberries have now been frozen for baking during colder months.On this visit I picked up some Peaches, Cherries & Plums (golden ones that too). I recall looking at all these gorgeous fruit and wondering what to bake with them. Summer fruits are a great addition to any dessert. Most of them work well in Tarts, crumbles and galettes, cobblers or even just grilled.
I have been seeing numerous fellow bloggers posts on the French dessert “Clafoutis”, essentially baked with dark red cherries layered with butter and covered with a thick custard -flan like batter and baked till set. Most often served warm with a dusting of icing sugar and slivered almonds. Well I decided to bake one and take it along for a family dinner. The fresh seasonal cherries in the Clafoutis make this a dessert to drool over. I’ve adapted the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and it turned out just delicious. Hope you are having a wonderful summer, despite our crazy and challenging times. We are taking it easy with simple pleasure of life and as usual baking up a storm.
Here’s one more reason summer just got even better, with this wonderful seasonal fresh cherry Clafoutis.This recipe is sure to keep you baking all through this summer. Go ahead and bake this before we say goodbye to Cherry season again!
Stay Safe and Happy Baking!
Few Tips:
- Ideally one could use whole cherries, however using pitted cherries works better.
- I’ve used a vanilla extract as flavouring,however an almond extract would do wonders to the clafoutis.
- Usually served lukewarm.
Recipe For Cherry Clafoutis: ( Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs
- 100 grams) sugar or 50 grams sweetener
- 85 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more to butter dish
- 130 grams all-purpose flour
- A couple pinches of salt
- 235 ml milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons rum (optional)
- 245 grams) cups sweet cherries (pitted)
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400F. Beat the sugar and eggs together with a whisk until pale in color.
- Gradually add butter, beating to incorporate. Add the flour and salt all at once and whisk until the batter is a homogeneous mixture. Next slowly pour in the milk a little at a time.
- Add rum if you are using it, mixing well. The batter should be very smooth and shiny.
- Place the pitted cherries in a buttered glass dish (9 or 10 inches in diameter)
- Pour the batter over the fruit.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until slightly browned and almost completely set in the middle. Let sit at least 15 minutes before serving in wedges. I like it dusted with powdered sugar and sprinkled some sliced almond flakes.
- Serve warm.
Cookingwithshy 
This dessert looks divine. 🍃🍒
Thanks Gail…yes it turned out delicious:))
Sounds like a fun trip – we always enjoyed going to the different wineries when we traveled. I was first introduced to ice wine about 5 years ago – very sweet!
Yes Judi…it was a lovely day trip. The Ice wine is quite sweet and we usually have it like a dessert wine and chilled..Its great for these hot summers here in Toronto..
Love your cherry clafoutis! I also love adding some crunchy almonds on top.
Great photos!
Thanks Ronit…hope you are well. yes almonds would make a nice topping,I’ve just added some slivered ones ad ran out of whole almonds.
I also use slivered ones. 🙂
Yes Ronit…Those work really well!!
Beautiful photos!!!
Thanks so much:)))
Love your photos! I live in Canada’s opposite coast “fruit basket” in BC’s Okanagan Valley, and make cherry clafouti every year. I love your addition of rum to this recipe and I’m excited to try it.
Thanks so much!!! Living in the beautiful Okanagan valley must be just amazing. We visited Vancouver some years ago and loved every bit! Yes the rum in the cherry clafoutis adds a nice flavour…hope you make one soon…
Nothing beats summer cherries! And, I was lucky enough to enjoy ice wine in Niagara back when I lived in Ontario. I LOVE it.
Absolutely Sharon! The cherries are amazing this season and the Ice wine too perfect with hot summers here in Toronto…hope you are well..
Your post brought back nice memories of a visit to Niagara On The Lake so years ago…the area was beautiful. Your cherry clafoutis looks delicious and I’m sure it was.
Thanks Karen…yes the Clafoutis did turn out good..Niagara On the Lake is indeed lovely in the summer…was very quite when we visited a couple of weeks ago! Hope you are well:))
I’ve never made clafoutis but I have always wanted to try and I happen to have two big bags of cherries, so I will be making this this weekend! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Kristen.. do go ahead and bake this! I’m sure you will enjoy the flavours.. have a great day!
I haven’t been to Niagara-on-the-Lake in years, but I felt transported right back there with your lovely post. Something about stone fruit, in-season and ripe off the trees, really makes me happy. Love the recipe, and I agree with your comment about substituting almond extract – I think that makes for a lovely alternative, and a wonderful companion to the sweet cherries. Cheers!
Hey thanks Sean…glad the post brought back memories of Niagara..yes indeed we have had a wonderful summer here in Toronto with an abundance of fruits and so many ways to use them..Hope you are well…thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog G’day Souffle’. The farmer’s market that you went to looks great! Yes, I think I would like to add some rum to the clafoutis. They are so easy to make but they are filled with everything delicious, including cherries and custard. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you! Yes the rum brought in a great flavour to the Clafoutis! have a wonderful day:))