The best fruit cobbler

Name: The best fruit cobbler
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 8
Ingredients: Butter, for greasing; 12 large ripe plums; 75 g light brown soft sugar; ½ tsp vanilla bean paste; 1 tbsp lemon juice; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tbsp cornflour; No.1 Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream or double cream, to serve (optional)

Meet crumble’s clumsier, softer-around-the-edges cousin – the cobbler. It’s sweet, celebrates seasonal stone fruit and is full of retro charm. Try this version, from Martha Collison.

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Vegetarian

Serves8
CourseDessert
Prepare10 mins
Cook50 mins
Total time1 hr

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Butter, for greasing
12 large ripe plums
75g light brown soft sugar
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp cornflour
No.1 Madagascan Vanilla Ice Cream or double cream, to serve (optional)

For the cobbler topping

140g plain flour
50g light brown soft sugar
1.4 tsp baking powder
75g butter, cold and cut into cubes
125ml buttermilk (or see tips)
1 tsp demerara sugar, to sprinkle

Preheat the oven to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Lightly butter a medium (about 2L) rectangular ceramic or enamel baking dish.
Remove the stones from the plums and slice each half into 3 pieces. In a large bowl, gently toss together the plum slices with 75g light brown sugar, the vanilla paste, lemon juice, cinnamon and cornflour until well coated. Tip into the prepared dish, spread into an even layer and bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the topping. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, light brown sugar and baking powder. Add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs – leave a few pea-sized pieces of butter to create a flaky texture in the finished cobbler.
Gradually add the buttermilk, stirring gently until the dough just comes together. Don’t overmix – it should be soft and slightly sticky.
Remove the part-baked fruit from the oven and give it a good stir. Dollop spoonfuls of cobbler dough over the fruit using an ice-cream scoop or 2 spoons, leaving a few gaps so the juices can bubble up and create the paving stone top. Sprinkle the top of the cobbler with the demerara sugar for crunch.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the topping is firm, golden brown and the fruit is bubbling at the edges. Allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the fruit time to thicken (and to avoid scalding your tongue!), then serve with the ice cream or double cream, if liked.

Cook’s tip

Other fruit
Plums are my favourite stone fruit to bake, as they are transformed in flavour and colour by heat. Other fruits also work well as a base, the most famous being peach cobbler. But apricots, summer berries and even apples can be used too – just cook until tender.

Your secret weapon
Buttermilk adds a slight tang and reacts with baking powder to help the topping rise into soft, cloud-like mounds. If you don’t have any, add 2 tsp lemon juice to 115ml milk and let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken.

Choose ripe (but not overripe) fruit
Ripe fruit brings the natural sweetness and juicy texture you want, but avoid anything too soft or mushy – it’s almost impossible to remove the stones and it will disintegrate in the oven. Slightly firm peaches and plums hold their shape beautifully.

Typical values per serving when made using specific products in recipe