Rainy Day Cherries
It is the month of May, right? Ok. Good. I just wanted to check because as I gaze out my window right now it’s looking a whole lot like February. What is this rain, people? I had big plans for this weekend and now they are all washed out…

For the past week, I have been getting notices from some of my favorite U-Pick farms that they will be open for business this weekend. (Let the cherry and apricot picking begin!) And while I have no problem going picking in a light rain, the thunderstorms and torrential downpours that are predicted might be a bit much. My disappointment in possibly not being able to go is less about the fruit and more about this being the first time in years that we actually have a free weekend to go a-pickin’.

I love U-Pick farms. Probably to the point of obsession. I just get so much joy being outside on a ladder trying to find the best ones. Plus my kids still think it’s fun which is fantastic because the list of activities they deem acceptable to do with their parents is minuscule.

At this point, I am in wait-and-see mode. Sunday looks like it might be okay. And, yes, I can grab some at the store since the cherries and apricots are in. But, the experience is not the same. They kinda frown on climbing ladders in the Produce Department. Party poopers!

Fresh Cherry & Apricot Clafoutis
Adapted from New York Times Cooking
Yields 8 servings

Clafoutis is a baked French dessert of fruit arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. The clafoutis is dusted with powdered sugar and served lukewarm, sometimes with cream.

Ingredients
3/4 pound ripe cherries, stemmed and pitted
3/4 pound ripe apricots, halved and pitted
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brandy
1/3 cup  unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup almond flour
3 eggs
1 vanilla bean, scraped, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2/3 cup low-fat sour cream
confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions
Prep the fruit
Toss the cherries and apricots with the brandy and 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and let sit for 30 minutes. Drain over a bowl and reserve the liquid.

Prepare the pan
Preheat the oven to 375 ºF. Butter a 9- or 10-inch ceramic tart pan or clafoutis dish. Arrange the drained cherries and apricots in the dish.

Make the batter
Sift together the all-purpose flour and almond flour.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the remaining sugar and the seeds from the vanilla bean (or vanilla extract). Add the salt and the liquid from the cherries and apricots and combine well. Slowly beat in the sifted flours and whisk until smooth. Add the sour cream and combine well. Pour over the fruit, scraping out all of the batter with a rubber spatula.

Bake the Clafoutis
Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, until the top is browned and the clafoutis is firm and puffed. Press your finger gently in the middle of the top to test firmness. If it isn’t firm, return it to the oven for about 5 minutes.

Allow to cool
Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Dust with a light sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar and serve at room temperature.