Big Plans

Dear friends, over the past few weeks I have had big plans for recipes I wanted to share with you. First there was Chana Masala (which I promise will appear shortly) then there were pickled carrots followed by blackberry scones, and the recipe for which I was most excited were creamsicle cupcakes topped with creamy chocolate frosting. The unfortunate (for you and me) part of these plans is that none of the previously mentioned recipes turned out well enough to justify sharing.

I spend a lot of time daydreaming about opening my own bakery and what that will be like. Then I inevitably go through a streak where nothing I make turns out right and I begin to question my authority to make such a move. I mean, who is going to come to a bakery that serves cupcakes which disintigrate into a pile of crumbs as soon as the paper is removed? Or scones that look like they got baked in a wind tunnel?! I certainly wouldn't and can hardly expect others to.

Fortunately I seem to be in someone's good graces and eventually stumble upon a recipe that puts a halt to the downward spiral. My redemption this time came on a grey, rainy, stay-at-home kind of Saturday morning. Actually it started late Friday night when I pulled out a long forgotten pastry book and scanned it's pages for a glimmer of inspiration. I have had this book for years but had pretty much written it off after a disasterously failed attempt at pain au levain which gobbled up not mere hours but DAYS of my time and eager expectations, and resulted in an extremely dense frisbee-like blob of dough. That said, I am of the belief that most things in life are worth a second chance, and considered it my due dilligence to give this book another go round. I am certainly glad I did.

When it comes to breakfast pastries I tend to head down a one track road. If I happen to wake up early on a weekend day I usually feel compelled to hurry downstairs and create something to pop into the oven and fill the house with happy, warm, weekend morning smells. The pastry of choice more often than not is of the scone variety. However, in the spirit of branching out and conquering new frontiers I admonished myself to take the plunge and make something that perhaps I had not thought before to eat for breakfast. It was then that a picture of a bing cherry cobbler caught my eye. With a crusty biscuit top and ruby colored stains sliding down the ramekin where burbling juice sneaked out of the cobbler, it was too much to resist. 

Because I live in the middle of the country where it is still early spring (meaning the only local thing to eat is dirt and a few token sprigs of asparagus) I knew I was going to have to doctor up this recipe. Due to the fact that I didn't just happen to have 2# of bing cherries lying around the house it was time to get creative. I rumaged through the freezer and unearthed a glorious bag of little frozen apples from an old orchard nearby, carefully cored and sliced by my mom last fall. In the search for juicier fruit to pair with said apples I also managed to find a handful of frozen blackberries and a few more handfuls of frozen raspberries. Added to that was a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a few tablespoons of diced crystallized ginger for good measure, and a cobbled top of buttermilk biscuit dough; breakfast was in the oven (as my grandmother would say) in a jiffy.

As I savored each bite of supple crimson-stained fruit paired with bits of crunchy cinnamon scented biscuit and washed them down with a swig of good dark coffee it dawned on me that perhaps cobblers were indeed meant to be eaten for breakfast. Really there seems to be no better way to start the day than sitting down to a bowl full of fruit and biscuits, a cup of something hot, and a little time just to be.

Bake. Eat. Repeat.

Apple Berry Breakfast Cobbler

A modified version of Bing Cherry Cobbler from Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

Filling:

2 1/2 cups (1 lb) cored, sliced, peeled semi-tart apples

2 1/2 cups (1 lb) fresh or frozen blackberries and/or raspberries

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

3 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. diced crystallized ginger

I am of the persuasion that this crumble would adapt well to most any combination of fruit you happen to have on hand. Rhubarb/berry, apple/pear, peach and/or peach/berry, etc. Let your imagination go wild and feel free to adjust/add/omit spices as you see fit.

Biscuit topping:

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

6 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 Tbsp. sugar mixed with 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 and place a rack in the middle position. For individual servings, place six 1-cup ramekins or custard cups on a half sheet pan. For a large cobbler, have ready a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie dish or baking dish with sides at least 2 3/4 inches high.

To make the filling, in a large bowl, stir together the fruit, lemon juice, sugar, and ginger until well mixed. Divide fruit among the ramekins or pour into baking dish. Bake the fruit for 10 minutes while you prepare the topping.

To make the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and vanilla and set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, and cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the butter until the mixture forms large coarse crumbs, the size of small peas. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture and, using a large wooden spoon, stir just until combined and a soft, sticky, evenly moistened dough forms.

Drop the dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the hot fruit, spacing it evenly over the surface. The topping will not cover the fruit but will spread during baking. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the dough.

Bake until the fruit filling is bubbling, the topping is browned, and a toothpick inserted into the topping comes out clean, 30-35 minutes (mine took more like 45 minutes on account of using frozen fruit). Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

In the event you happen to have any cobbler left over, I find it stores best on the counter covered with a tea towel or napkin. Refrigerating it tends to make the biscuit part soggy. It will stay good at room temperature for up to 2 days, assuming you have more willpower than someone named Amy who gobbled it morning, noon, and night!


This cobbler is good eaten on it's own, though I've also been told it is exceptionally tasty served with a splash of milk or dollop of creme fraiche, if you are so inclined.