I Cannot Tell a Lie

We lost two of the big cherry trees at the Chateau this winter. I think it'll take a while before we'll be making many cherry pies or clafoutis from these new trees!

Speaking of clafoutis...here's a recipe for this delicious and quite simple French dessert. It reminds me somewhat of the"Dutch Baby Pancakes" that my mom makes, and I've heard it described as somewhere between a flan and a cake.

Basic Clafoutis Recipe

4 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tablespoon melted butter
pinch of salt

Mix eggs, sugar, cinnamon, salt, flour. Add milk, butter, vanilla.

Thickly butter a baking dish or quiche pan.

Arrange fruit of your choice in pan (cherries are the traditional favorite; Suzie Hobert makes a super yummy pear-pine nut variation).

Pour batter over fruit.

Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes.



And since I have cherry trees on the brain... a bit of trivia thanks to About.com

Question: Did George Washington chop down a cherry tree and tell his father the truth?

Answer: As far as we know, no. In fact, Washington's biographer, Mason Weems, wrote a book called "The Life of Washington" shortly after his death where he created this myth as a way to show Washington's honesty.