Instructions: Life and a bowl of cherries do have common bonds, you know. Both are bright and beautiful, are full of promise, but suffer bruises and can go to rot if not handled carefully. Neither lasts long enough.

At best, the summer sun kisses the smallest member of the stone fruit family - the cherry - into both sweet and tart ripeness. Californias Central Valley is at the end of its Bing cherry season, the sweet favorites that lend such shimmering deep red color to produce markets and roadside stands. Sweet Bings or their tart cousins, take your pick, but choose quickly because cherries wont be around long.

To do more at home with cherries than just make pies, chefs suggest simmering plumped and pureed dried cherries with a prepared barbecue sauce and brushing it over grilled foods; use cherries in salads containing blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola or Roquefort or sharp-flavored cheeses such as feta; and incorporate cherries in game, chicken or pork dishes.

But today, we will stick with dessert. Well make mixed cherry clafouti, an exotic sounding but simple baked dessert incorporating both kinds of cherries.

What exactly is a clafouti? France is the home of this fabulous baked fruit dessert, which is pronounced kla-foo-TEE. Its a sort of cobbler, only the pastry batter is mixed with the fruit rather than placed on top, as with American cobbler. Why are clafouti so good for fruit? Pies are good for firm textured fruit, such as apples. But for the juicier and more tender cherry, a clafouti is best. Softer fruit, such as cherries, peaches, plums and berries, release their juices into the clafouti batter, where the rich natural flavors are captured.

* Advantages: Though the batter is rich, modern techniques have reduced the fat. Fruit makes up the largest portion of the dish.

* Selecting the fruit: Varieties of sweet cherries include Bing, Lambert and Rainier, mostly from Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Michigan grows some sweet cherries but is more famous for tart pie cherries of the morello variety. Both varieties are great when blended in this dessert. The best cherries for the clafouti are the ripest you can find. Shop even for ripe fruit that is slightly bruised. It can be trimmed and still make a terrific clafouti.

* Preparing the fruit: Wash, stem and pit the cherries. If you prefer, cut them in half, though I like whole cherries best. They kind of burst when you eat them.

* Preparing the dough: Clafouti batter is the simplest of all to make. Just mix it until it is smooth, but dont overdo it. Overmixing will cause gluten to form, resulting in a tough pastry that will absorb less of the fruit juices.

* Tricks of the trade: For best results, I use Madeleine Kammans technique.

Pour a third of the batter into the baking dish and cook until almost solid, then add the combined fruit and the remaining batter. This technique prevents the fruit from sinking to the bottom.

* Serving suggestions: Ice cream or frozen yogurt make great foils for the clafouti, which can be served warm or at room temperature.

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