There are desserts that look like they demand skilled hands and hours of work, but are actually pure simplicity. Cherry clafoutis is exactly that - a French summer sweet made in a single dish, with no crust, no decorating, that on the table looks like something far more expensive than it cost. The secret isn't in the ingredients, it's in the texture: something between a pancake and a dense flan.

The ingredients are humble and you probably already have them: 500 grams of ripe cherries, 3 eggs, 100 grams of sugar, 80 grams of flour, 250 milliliters of full-fat milk, 50 milliliters of cream, 25 grams of melted butter, vanilla and a pinch of salt. That's all. In the original recipe the cherries aren't pitted - but if you're making it for guests, you'd better take the pits out, so there are no surprises.

The procedure is easy: wash and arrange the cherries in a greased dish, heat the oven to 180 degrees. Whisk the eggs with the sugar, add the flour and salt, then the milk, cream, vanilla and melted butter - the mixture should be liquid, like for pancakes. Slowly pour it over the cherries and bake for 35 to 45 minutes.

Here's the key moment, the one that separates a good clafoutis from a dry one: don't overbake. When the edges rise and turn golden, and the center still wobbles a little - it's done. It's exactly that slightly wobbly center that gives the creamy texture close to a dense flan. Let it rest for fifteen minutes, dust with powdered sugar and serve. The contrast between the juicy cherry and the silky mixture is the whole point - and the whole effort.