Julia Child's Berry Clafoutis

Recipe from Julia Child

Adapted by Julia Moskin

Updated June 29, 2025

  • A berry clafoutis with a spoon dipping into it showing its colorful filling.
    Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.
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Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(4,807)
Comments
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This recipe is for a delicately sweet dessert whose elegance should not distract from its ease (it can be made while the rest of dinner is in the oven). Make sure you have fresh berries, and serve the result warm. We call for blueberries or blackberries here, but feel free to try it with whatever seasonal fruit catches your eye. —Julia Moskin

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • Butter for pan

  • 1 and ¼ cups whole or 2 percent milk

  • ⅔ cup granulated sugar, divided

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

  • 1 cup flour

  • 1 pint (2 generous cups) blackberries or blueberries, rinsed and well drained

  • Powdered sugar in a shaker

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

36 grams carbs; 67 milligrams cholesterol; 202 calories; 1 gram monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 4 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 78 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 22 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a medium-size flameproof baking dish at least 1 ½ inches deep.

  2. Step 2

    Place the milk, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour in a blender. Blend at top speed until smooth and frothy, about 1 minute.

  3. Step 3

    Pour a ¼-inch layer of batter in the baking dish. Turn on a stove burner to low and set dish on top for a minute or two, until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat.

  4. Step 4

    Spread berries over the batter and sprinkle on the remaining ⅓ cup granulated sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth with the back of a spoon. Place in the center of the oven and bake about 50 minutes, until top is puffed and browned and a tester plunged into its center comes out clean.

  5. Step 5

    Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving. (Clafoutis need not be served hot, but should still be warm. It will sink slightly as it cools.)

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Ratings

5 out of 5
4,807 user ratings
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Comments

anne

Prefer recipe from "A Provincial Table," by Richard Olney
2 TBS butter
1 pound apricots, halved and pitted
2 oz slivered almonds
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1-1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter shallow baking dish. Arrange apricots, cut surface down in single layer. Add almonds. Whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, salt, eggs. Whisk in flour, add milk. Pour mixture over apricots. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over surface. Dot with butter. Bake for 40 minutes til golden.

Julie

This looked dull, but I tried it. Cooled it just slightly then Hub and I spooned it into small dishes while it was still warm...one taste and there was silence. And then the yumming commenced and instead of proper, polite second helpings, we grabbed a big knife and drew a line across the clafoutis and ate it (vulture style) standing at the kitchen counter. See Joanne Chang's Flour cookbook for a variation... plums and vanilla AND a dab of almond extract.

EB

The negative comments are quite overblown and questionable. This recipe works fine as it is written here. If you want to reduce sugar, obviously that's fine too. Julia Child, in the Art of French Cooking, calls these clafoutis and flans interchangeably, and her basic recipe uses 2/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour, and 1/3 c. granulated sugar, and 3 cups (1 1/4 Ibs) blackberries or blueberries. The NYT version of the recipe works out fine, but Julia's version is BETTER.

Turned out great

I used a le crueset round cast iron braiser. I had to cook my batter on the stove more than 2 minutes to get it to set but I just kept checking it. Forgot to add the extra sugar on my fresh blueberries before pouring on the final. so I dumped it on top. Still turned out delicious. I feel like this recipe is extremely forgiving. I don’t feel like I did anything special. Used King Arthur flour and a Vitamix on high. But it was fluffy and delicious.

Todd Hanlon

Made this with fresh blueberries and the difference was incredible — the berries really made the dish shine. I had to stop myself from devouring the whole thing! 😄 I used almond milk and topped it with a non-dairy cream topping. The result was almost like a warm blueberry pudding — simple, comforting, and absolutely delicious. 🫐✨

Barbara Miles

Extremely dense - not a fan!

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Credits

Adapted from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” by Julia Child (Knopf, 1961)

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