I’m not ashamed to admit that this recipe is pretty much the extent of my repertoire of recipes featuring sweet cherries. This is not because of a lack of interest in the fruit; the dark sweet globes are, in my humble opinion, one of the most succulent fruits of the summer season. But perhaps that’s exactly why I haven’t sought out more recipes featuring sweet cherries: if they’re perfect in their natural state, why would I force them into a form that would detract from, rather than enhance, their juicy glory?

Therein lies the beauty of the clafoutis. This treatment of sweet cherries enhances their nature, baking them gently in a custard that highlights the darkly sweet burst of juice on the palette with every mouthful. It is essential to leave the cherry pits alone; the cherries will become too watery otherwise and will leak their juice throughout the clafoutis, becoming shells of themselves after baking. What is wanted here is the hint of almond the cherry pits leave behind, as the cherries bake from the inside and heat the pits. Clafoutis is a sensual eating experience, the tongue caressing the pit of each cherry and rolling it around the mouth before popping it out. And don’t neglect the orange flower water – it seems exotic and overdone, but the floral hint it transmits elevates the clafoutis.

My husband told me one morning that he “wouldn’t be sorry” if I were to make a clafoutis every day for a week. So I did, and indeed, he wasn’t sorry at all.

This recipe is taken exactly from Mimi Thorisson’s A Kitchen in France, which is my husband’s current favourite cookbook. I have not adapted or tweaked at all; it is impossible to improve on the perfection of this clafoutis.

Sweet Cherry Clafoutis

3 1/2 tbsp melted unsalted butter plus more for a generous buttering of the cake pan

1 pound of sweet cherries, stemmed and pits intact

scant 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

a pinch of salt

1 vanilla bean

3/4 cup plus a little more whole milk

4 eggs

1 tbsp orange flower water

icing sugar for dusting

Butter a 9-inch round cake pan, then butter it twice more. (Buttering should be generous.) Place the cherries in the well-buttered pan.

Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the back of a paring knife. (Pop the pod into a container of sugar for ready-made vanilla sugar for a later use.)

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla seeds in a large bowl. Add the milk, whisking gently, then the eggs one at a time. Whisk after the addition of each egg, then whisk in the orange flower water and melted butter until the batter is smooth. Take care not to whisk too hard – you do not want the batter to become bubbly or foamy. Pour the batter over the cherries.

Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake another 20-25 minutes, until the clafoutis has puffed up and turned golden. Let it cool on a rack until it has reached room temperature, then dust it with icing sugar just before serving.

Make sure to set out a dainty bowl or plate for all the lovely pits.