This peach clafoutis recipe is the perfect summer dessert! Fresh fruit bakes in an eggy batter, yielding a cakey, custardy texture with a vanilla-scented aroma. It's an easy and tasty treat for a dinner party or a summer BBQ.
Have you ever tried clafoutis? It's a delicious baked French dessert somewhere between a cakey and a custardy, eggy texture originating in the Limousin region of France. I originally found the recipe from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
It's most traditionally made with black cherries; fun fact, the fruit is often unpitted, bringing a delicate almond flavor to the dish (yes, the pits actually taste like almonds). While cherry clafoutis is the most well-known version, I've since tested the dessert with many fruits, including this blueberry clafoutis variation. Today, I'm riffing on this recipe with peaches, and boy, is it good!
Why You'll Love This Dessert
- Simple and quick: With just 15 minutes of prep time, this dessert is so quick and easy it'll be in the oven in no time!
- Light and well-balanced: The custard batter is not too heavy, and it's balanced by freshly cut slices of tangy and sweet peaches.
- Make-ahead friendly: You can bake the custard up to one day in advance and reheat it just before serving.
Key Ingredients
TIP: To prevent the batter from curdling, ensure your ingredients are at room temperature.
- Fresh Peaches: Look for ripe, in-season peaches for this recipe. The sweeter and juicier the peaches, the more flavorful the cake will be.
- Vanilla Paste: I'm a big fan of using vanilla paste in desserts, as I think it adds a more intense aroma and flavor. If you don't have this, you can substitute an equal amount of extract.
- Almond Extract: Unlike the traditional version, I pre-pit my peaches so you don't have to bite through the pits. But I love the idea of a subtle almond flavor, so I include a bit of extract to mimic the original recipe.
- Demerara Sugar: Optionally, I like to sprinkle some demerara sugar on top of the clafoutis for additional texture and sweetness.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar, or icing sugar, is dusted on top. It's mostly aesthetic -- I just love how pretty it looks!
Top Ingredient Tip
With stone fruits, there are two types of varieties: clingstone and freestone. Clingstone peaches have pits that "cling" to the flesh of the fruit, so they're more difficult to detach.
Freestone peaches have more freely detachable pits, so they're more ideal for baking (easier prep!). Generally, most grocery stores have freestone peaches, but if you're at the farmer's market, make sure to check with the stand.
Variations/Substitutions
- For a richer custard, substitute ¼ cup of the milk for heavy cream.
- Can't find peaches? Feel free to use nectarines!
Step-by-Step Photos
Step 1: Thinly slice your peaches, and toss them with lemon zest, sugar, and vanilla paste. Grease the bottom of a baking pan with butter, then arrange the peaches evenly.
Step 2: Make the clafoutis batter by blending melted butter, eggs, sugar, salt, and almond extract. Add the flour, and blend until smooth (no clumps should remain). Be sure not to "overblend" the mixture, which can cause excessive air bubbles.
Step 3: Slowly pour the egg mixture over the peaches. Remove any large air bubbles by poking them with chopsticks.
Step 4: Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top (if using).
Step 5: Bake in the oven until the top is nicely golden-brown and the cake is cooked through (a toothpick prodded into the center of the cake should come out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs).
This could take anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour, depending on the depth of the casserole dish.
Cool slightly, then dust with powdered sugar and serve warm (or at room temperature). You can serve it by itself, or with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Equipment
Prep: A blender is the easiest way to prepare this dessert, but you can also use a large mixing bowl and a whisk. If using a whisk, make sure to slowly sift the flour into the batter, and gently whisk until no clumps remain.
Baking: The beauty of clafoutis is how flexible it is! You can bake the custard in a cast-iron skillet, pie plate, or even individual ramekins. As noted above, the baking time will vary considerably depending on the depth of the baking vessel.
Storage & Make-Ahead Instructions
Leftover clafoutis can last 3 - 4 days in the fridge; store pieces in an airtight container.
You can also bake the dessert up to 1 day in advance. Reheat before serving until warmed through.
Recipe FAQs
Though it has an eggy batter, clafoutis doesn't taste overly "eggy." Instead, the texture is somewhat between a custardy flan and a cake. It should taste lightly sweet, with hints of vanilla and almond.
Clafoutis is pronounced "kla·fou·ti."
Try not to "overblend" or overbake the custard, which can make it rubbery.
Typically, clafoutis is served slightly warm or at room temperature.
Yes, you can make the batter up to 1 day in advance. Slice and reheat before serving.
Other recipes you might like:
Fresh Peach Clafoutis
Equipment
- 9-inch or 10-inch round casserole dish, pie plate, or cast-iron pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups pitted and thinly sliced peaches, from about 10 ounces whole peaches
- 2 teaspoons vanilla paste
- ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp granulated white sugar, divided
- 1 lemon, zested
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted | plus more unmelted butter for greasing the pan
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon demerara sugar, optional | for a crunchy top
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 °F / 177℃. Grease a 9-inch baking pan or cast-iron pan with butter.
- Place 2 cups pitted and thinly sliced peaches in a medium-sized bowl. Toss with 2 teaspoons vanilla paste, 1 tablespoon sugar, and the zest from 1 lemon. Transfer to the baking pan and arrange evenly.
- To the base of a blender, add remaining ⅓ cup of granulated white sugar, 3 large eggs, 1 ¼ cups whole milk, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted), ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon almond extract. Blend until combined.Add ⅔ cup all-purpose flour and blend until smooth.
- Slowly and evenly pour the clafoutis batter over the peaches. Top with 1 tablespoon demerara sugar, if using.Note: If you see any large air bubbles, you can poke them with a fork or a chopstick.
- Bake the clafoutis for 40 minutes to an hour until the edges are golden-brown and the middle is just set, but still slightly wobbly. A toothpick placed into the center of the pan should be clean (or with a few moist crumbs attached).Note: I recommend checking on the clafoutis after 30 minutes, especially if using a shallower (10-inch pan). In my 9-inch casserole dish, it took me closer to an hour.
- Remove the clafoutis from the oven and let cool for 10 - 15 minutes until still warm, but not hot.
- Dust with powdered sugar, cut into slices, and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
References
Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
From Out of a Pit, The Essence of Almond by Amanda Hesser
I made this today for a gathering of friends. Rave reviews by all-me included. Delicious! I used canned peaches. Turned out beautifully. Thanks so much for this delightful recipe!
Hi David,
Thank you for writing in and so glad you enjoyed! That's great to know it worked with canned peaches, too!
I should have added a couple of other notes. I actually made two of them—I had bought a couple of #10 cans of peaches on sale. One was for our daughter’s family (she also greatly enjoyed it) which was made with regular AP flour. The one for us and friends was made gluten free. I used 1/3 cup gluten free flour (with xanthan gum) and 1/3 cup almond flour. It turned out great. Also (I imagine that you roll your eyes when people alter your recipes) since I had so many peaches I upped the amount to 14 ounces. OTHERWISE, I followed your recipe faithfully. :-). Thanks again for it.
Thank you so much! This is so helpful to anyone looking to make it gluten-free! And I'm glad you were able to adjust the amount of peaches with success.
Your list of ingredients lists 1/3C + 1 Tbsp. sugar, but your directions in #2 and #3 both state to use 1/3 C sugar. #2’s direction also used the 1 Tbsp. of sugar.
I want to make this tomorrow, but unsure if you are calling for a total of 2/3C + 1 Tbsp. of sugar or the peaches only get one tablespoon of sugar.
Hi! Sorry for the delay here - it's 1 tablespoon of sugar for the peaches and 1/3 cup in the blender. The faded out ingredients below each step (in 2, for example) just list the total quantity as a reference. Apologies for any confusion!