Clafoutis is a homely dessert, a wobbly set custard chock-full of summer's first cherries. What it lacks in elegance, it makes up for in comfort and sheer deliciousness - perfect for brunch among friends. This recipe is adapted from Les Clafoutis de Christophe by Christophe Felder (Éditions Minerva, Geneva, 2001). Many traditional clafoutis use unpitted cherries to get the bitter almond flavour from the pits, but if you don't want to pay for your guests' dental work, I suggest you pit the cherries and add some Amaretto instead!

Serves: 6-8
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 50-55 minutes

INGREDIENTS
Butter for greasing the tin
150g sugar plus some for tin
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
50g flour
250ml skimmed milk
250ml single cream
1 tbsp Amaretto, rum, or kirsch
500g cherries, pitted

METHOD
● Preheat your oven to 200°C.

● In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs and egg yolks until they become a light lemon yellow.

● Add flour, and whisk to combine. Pour in the milk, cream, and Amaretto, whisking just to combine – like pancake batter; once you add the flour you don't want to overwork it.

● Butter and sugar a 25 cm ceramic tart mould. I sometimes skip this step and just line the dish with a big sheet of waxed paper.

● Pit the cherries; put them in the bottom of the mould.

● Give the batter a final stir and pour it in. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 50–55 minutes, until well browned and fully set in the middle.

● Serve slightly warm or at room temperature (though I never say no to the leftovers straight from the fridge the next morning).