Southern-style peach-blueberry cobbler

Showcase fresh or frozen fruit in a delicious, easy dessert!

While I am inordinately fond of fruit crisps and keep a bag of homemade prepared oat-butter-sugar topping in my freezer year round, I recently decided to make my very first cobbler and it was a delicious success. I opted to go Southern-style (batter on the bottom) rather than Northern (batter on top of fruit) and loved not only the flavour of this dish but also its beautiful appearance.  I am looking forward to trying other fruit combinations such as apple-cranberry or solo fruits such as raspberries, cherries or plums. This is a great dessert to make with gluten-free flour; it’s also ideal for vegetarians or vegans as it does not contain eggs and non-dairy versions of butter and milk may be used. I found that the cobbler was best enjoyed within a few hours of baking, however the next morning, the leftovers still tasted pretty fabulous. Note that you can use fresh or frozen fruit; if using frozen, do not thaw before adding to the dish.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (115 g) butter, melted (dairy or non-dairy)
• 1 cup (150 g) all-purpose flour (regular or gluten-free blend)
• 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
• 1 teaspoon (3 g) ground cardamom or cinnamon, divided
• 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 g) salt
• 3/4 cup (180 mL) milk (dairy or non-dairy)
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) vanilla extract
• 5 medium-sized peaches, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup (95 g) blueberries
• 3 tablespoons (37 g) brown sugar
• Whipped cream, coconut cream or ice cream, to serve

Method

• Preheat oven to 350F. Pour the melted butter into an 8 inch (20cm) square baking pan and set aside.
• Make the batter by putting the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) of the ground cardamom or cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl. Combine the milk and vanilla extract and pour over flour mixture, stirring until a smooth batter forms. Pour the batter mixture over the butter in the pan but do not stir.
• In another medium-sized bowl, toss the peach slices and blueberries with the remaining cardamom or cinnamon and scatter them evenly over the batter. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top.
• Bake until the batter is set in the centre of the pan (about 35 – 40 minutes).
• Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving with whipped cream, coconut cream or ice cream.

Serves 6.