Brown Butter Cherry Clafoutis

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh cherries, pitted (about 2 cups)
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• Powdered sugar, for serving

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 375°F. Set a 10-inch cast-iron or oven-safe skillet over medium heat and add the butter — let it keep going past the foam, swirling occasionally, until the milk solids turn deep amber and the whole thing smells like toasted hazelnuts. Pull from the heat and tilt the pan to coat the sides. Let cool 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, vanilla, and salt in a medium bowl until completely smooth — a real 60-second whisk, not a polite stir. The batter should be thin and pourable, like crepe batter. A few lumps now become a tough spot later.

3. 3

   Scatter the pitted cherries over the brown butter in the skillet in a single layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup sugar evenly over the cherries. Pour the batter over everything in a slow, even stream — it will look like there isn't enough batter, and that's correct.

4. 4

   Slide the skillet into the oven and bake 30–35 minutes, until the clafoutis is puffed and deeply golden at the edges, the center has just a faint wobble when you nudge the pan, and a knife inserted 2 inches from the center comes out clean. The center will look slightly underdone — it isn't. It finishes as it cools.

5. 5

   Rest 10 minutes before serving — the clafoutis will deflate as it cools, which is not failure, it's physics. Dust generously with powdered sugar right before bringing it to the table. Serve warm, directly from the skillet — the custard should be silky and trembling, with the cherries collapsed and jammy underneath.