Vegan Cherry Clafoutis: A French Classic, Reimagined

There's a particular kind of magic to a Clafoutis. It's not quite a cake, not quite a custard, not quite a pie — and that's exactly the point. This rustic French dessert has been charming home bakers for well over a century, and I'm excited to share my take on it: a fully vegan version that, if I do say so myself, nails the texture that so many plant-based adaptations miss.

A Bit of French History

Clafoutis (pronounced kla-foo-TEE) hails from the Limousin region in south-central France, where it emerged sometime in the 19th century as a way to make the most of the region's abundant black cherry harvest. The name is thought to come from the Occitan word clafir, meaning "to fill" — a nod to how generously the cherries fill the batter.

Traditionally, clafoutis is made by pouring a thick, custard-like batter — really just a step away from crepe batter — over a bed of whole, unpitted cherries, then baking until puffed and just set. The pits are traditionally left in for two reasons: they're said to release a subtle almond-like flavor into the batter as it bakes, and removing them can let the cherries bleed too much juice, turning the custard soggy. These days, most home cooks pit the cherries anyway for the sake of convenience (and dental safety), often adding a touch of almond extract to make up the flavor difference.

Purists will tell you that if you use any fruit other than cherries, it's technically a flaugnarde, not a clafoutis — but in modern usage, "clafoutis" has become the catch-all term, cherries or not.

What makes a clafoutis a clafoutis, texturally, is its custard-forward identity. It should feel closer to a baked flan or a very soft crustless quiche than to a fruit cake. That's the quality I set out to preserve when veganizing it.

Why Veganizing Clafoutis Is Tricky

Clafoutis batter leans hard on eggs — not just for structure, but for that specific silky, custardy set. Swap in the wrong egg replacer, and you often end up with one of two failure modes: a batter that never quite sets and stays gummy in the middle, or one that overcompensates with too much starch and bakes up dense and cakey. Getting a true custard texture without eggs is a genuinely hard problem, which is why so many vegan clafoutis recipes drift toward "fruit cake in a pie dish" instead of the real thing.

My Approach

To solve this, I built the batter around liquid JUST Egg  (which I buy at Walmart, Whole Foods or Sprouts) in place of chicken eggs, since its mung bean protein base is one of the few egg replacers that can actually mimic real custard-setting behavior rather than just adding moisture and starch. I regularly make quiche and frittatas with JUST Egg and dare anybody to tell the difference! To boost the protein content further, I added a couple of tablespoons of JUST One Original unflavored protein powder into the dry ingredients.

The results genuinely surprised me:

• The surface baked up smooth and evenly set, with none of the curdled or spongy texture that plagues a lot of vegan custards.

• The cherries stayed nicely suspended throughout the batter rather than sinking to the bottom, telling me the batter viscosity was right where it needed to be.

• The edges turned lightly golden while the center stayed pale — exactly the look you want in a clafoutis, with no overbaked edges.

• It had that gentle, characteristic puff that settles slightly as it cools, which is the real hallmark of a clafoutis done right.

Everyone who tried it agreed: it looked and tasted like the classic egg version. The texture read as a true clafoutis — delicate and custardy — not a cherry cake.

Recipe: Cherry Clafoutis with JUST Egg & JUST One

Serves 6–8 | Prep: 20 minutes (plus 10–15 minute batter rest) | Bake: 35–40 minutes

Ingredients

• ¾ cup liquid JUST Egg

• 1 cup unsweetened soy milk

• 4 Tbsp melted vegan butter

• ½ cup organic cane sugar

• ¾ cup + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

• 3 Tbsp JUST One Original unflavored protein powder (this is optional)

• ½ tsp almond extract

• ¼ tsp vanilla extract (optional, but it rounds out the flavor)

• ¼ tsp salt

• 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted

  
  

Method

1. Butter (or lightly oil) a 9-inch pie plate or similar baking dish.

2. Whisk together the JUST Egg, soy milk, butter, sugar, almond extract, vanilla, and salt until smooth.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and JUST One together before adding to the wet ingredients — this prevents little clumps of protein powder from forming in the batter.

4. Let the batter rest 10–15 minutes. This step isn't in most traditional clafoutis recipes, but it's essential here: it gives the protein powder time to fully hydrate, which makes for a much more even texture.

5. Scatter the cherries in the prepared dish and pour the batter over them.

6. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 35–40 minutes, until puffed, lightly browned, and just set in the center.

I took this photo just minutes after removing the Clafoutis from the oven. You can see the slight 'puff' and the cherries are nicely suspended in the batter. There's a nice bit of browning around the edge.

One Thing to Watch

JUST Egg firms up a bit more as it cools than chicken eggs do. Pull the clafoutis from the oven while the center still has a slight wobble, rather than waiting for it to look completely firm — it will finish setting during the 15–20 minutes it rests on the counter.

Whether you're vegan, egg-free by necessity, or just curious about how far plant-based baking has come, this one's worth a try. It's proof that clafoutis doesn't need eggs to feel like the real thing — it just needs the right substitutes and a little patience while the batter rests.