Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Peach Blackberry Cobbler & Crisp (TWD)

It was a friggin' hot this weekend in So Cal!!! I'll be the first to admit it...I'm a total weather wimp...anything that deviates from a sunny and temperate 75-80 degrees constitutes a climate crisis! We tried to be good citizens and not keep our air conditioning going around the clock to conserve electricity. One way to keep our house cool this weekend was to not cooking indoors (fruity, frosty cocktails by the pool didn't hurt either). The nice by product of our conservation efforts was doing a lot of great grilling on the barbeque. I almost made it through the entire weekend without turning on the range/oven...

This week's Tuesdays With Dorie selection, Mixed Berry Cobbler, was selected by Beth at Our Sweet Life. I missed out on making the peppermint cream puff ring last week, and was thinking of bailing this week as this recipe involved turning on the oven. I quickly changed my mind when I was at the farmers market, as I was inspired by all of the juicy and fragrant peaches, and decided to go for it and make a mini-cobbler.... and I'm so glad I did! Besides, the group is so much fun to bake with, I couldn't miss out on the action!


I don't frequently make or eat cobbler. I'm more of a fruit crisp person, as I like the flavor and crunch of the brown sugar, oats and nuts in a crisp topping. As I had extra fruit filling, I went ahead and made a mini crisp...after all, I had to put my taste buds to the test!

I decided to pass on the berries. Instead, I went with fresh peaches and blackberries, and put my own spin on the filling:

Fruit Filling
(this is enough for a 9x13" pan. I only used a quarter of the recipe to fill 2 small ramekins)
- 4 C peaches, large dice (if you cut up peaches too small, they will disentigrate when baking)
- 1 1/2 C blackberries
- 1/8 C honey
- 1/8 C maple syrup
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 tbsp quick tapioca (depending on juiciness of fruit)
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- dash of salt

I prepared the topping as written, but quartered the recipe. I did add just a 1/8 tsp of cinnamon for a little spice. The mini cobbler only took 22 minutes to finish in the oven at 375 degrees.

I was a little worried by the initial feedback about this recipe, but I really enjoyed the final product! I thought the topping had a nice flakey, crunchy biscuit texture and I didn't think it was too doughy or bland. I think of cobbler toppings as a vehicle to highlight the fruit, so I'm glad that it didn't overwhelm the delicious peach and blackberry filling. Also, perhaps it's a function of the topping, but I also liked that the blackberries held their shape and didn't disentigrate (it was a whole diffent story on the crisp...read on below).




I had some mascarpone ice cream in the freezer, and it was a decadent experience to have this creamy delight melt into the still-warm cobbler.


As mentioned above, I also made a mini-crisp, using the same fruit filling. For the topping, I went with my standby recipe, which follows below (only used a quarter of the recipe and still have some leftover):

Fruit Crisp Topping (makes enough to top a 9x13" pan)

- 6 tbsp butter
- 1/2 C flour
- 1 C quick oats
- 3/4 C brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- dash of salt
- 1/2 C sliced almonds

Combine the dry ingredients, then using your fingers incorporate int the butter. Do not overmix, as the mixture should have a crumbly texture. Crumble on top of fruit filling. The mini-crisp took 22 minutes to bake at 375 degrees.

I loved the texture of the crunchy topping with the warm syrupy fruit underneath. Unlike the cobbler, the blackberries kinda exploded and disentigrated into the peaches, creating a reddish pink filling. Tastewise, the fruit was just as flavorful.

So, has this week's experience changed my love for fruit crisps? Not exactly, but I'm willing to give this cobbler recipe another chance in the near future. If you're interesting in taking this recipe for a spin, Dorie Greenspan shares the original recipe for Mixed Berry Cobbler here. To see more delicious cobbler creations, check out the Tuesdays With Dorie blogroll.

28 comments:

Chibog in Chief said...

oh my goodness ..im crumbling into pieces staring all your photos! I cant wait to try this cobbler and crisp recipe of yours!

Peabody said...

Peaches and blackberries sound like a great combination.

Tara said...

Wow...yours looks fabulous!!! I love the twist you put on it!

ostwestwind said...

Great pics, the last is the best. Great work, well done

Ulrike from Küchenlatein

Engineer Baker said...

Crisp and cobbler? What an overachiever! I'm glad you decided to join in this week though. Peaches and blackberries sound wonderful!

Mari said...

Yum! Cobbler and crisp!?! Love it!

vibi said...

Love all those pictures, some of the best I've seen today!
Great job! ...really!

PheMom said...

So pretty! I wanted to add some blackberries in with our peaches too - it looks so heavenly!

Susie Homemaker said...

your pictures are so beautiful...jealous jealous jealous! could you please email me the type of camera you use? doughmesstic@gmail.com

i would really appreciate it!!

melly~ said...

your topping looks gorgeous!
YUM!

Jules Someone said...

Beautiful! And I agree with you on the mildness of the crust. I think it's more a vehicle to soak up all the berry deliciousness.

Bungalow Barbara said...

Oh, my! I want to come visit and have dessert! Crisp AND cobbler, how wonderful, and the picture with the ice cream melting on top should be rated X.

L said...

My gosh, I think I started drooling. Way to go!

Linda said...

Ms Susie Homemaker

I just sent you an e-mail.

Jaime said...

YUM! peach and blackberry is my favorite cobbler combo (or just plain blackberry)...you're lucky to be in CA w/all that fresh fruit :)

Bumblebutton said...

Oh boy mmmmmm. What a delicious combination--and at least you had the mascarpone ice cream (I'm jealous) to cool you down a little in all that heat!

Di said...

I'm with you--I make crisps a lot more than I make cobblers. Both of yours look delicious!

Anne said...

Wow, those blackberries look amazing! Great job!

Rebecca of "Ezra Pound Cake" said...

Your cobbler looks absolutely delicious! Love the combo and these pics.

Rebecca
http://www.ezrapoundcake.com

April said...

It looks great! Blackberries with the peaches sound wonderful!

Sophie said...

Peaches and blackberry are a great combo...I just made a peach and blackberry pie and it was deelish...I added a bit of powdered ginger and it took it to a whole new level. Great pics :). Your desserts look so tasty.

April said...

Gosh that looks delicious, I can just taste the peaches! Beautiful pictures too!

Heather B said...

peaches and blackberries! yum! It looks tasty! Great job!

Shari said...

Peaches and blackberries would be yummy. Glad you got inspired at the farmer's market to turn on your oven! Great close-up photos!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

the Aspirant Abecedarian said...

Beautiful photos! I've had a fruity sweet tooth all night and that would do the trick.

OhioMom said...

I am sitting here wanting a bite of this to go with my coffee ... lovely pics!

test it comm said...

Those both look so good!

Christine Medifast said...

Blackberries are a hard thing to find this time of year for me unless you're willing to pay an arm and a leg for. Either way, these look too good to pass up. A cobbler and a crisp... delightful.

Time for me to start baking a little more often and try these out. I don't think my husband or kids will complain.

Christine M.

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