Author Notes
If you thought it impossible to gulp up infinite amounts of cobbler with no consequence, this one is for you. I stumbled upon this guilt-free treat about twenty five years ago in my grandmother’s cookbook. It was meant to be a coffee cake, with a couple of pieces of fruit scattered on top. I kept on gradually increasing the amount of fruits the batter can absorb, pushing it beyond the limits of a coffee cake into the serious cobbler territory. Then I discovered that reducing the amount of flour, shortening the baking time, and keeping the end product in the fridge for a couple of hours contributes a whole lot of extra creaminess. Sour cherry is my top fruit of choice for this recipe, followed by strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and then peaches or apricots. I serve it chilled, with a tiny bit of basil infused light cream on top. —QueenSashy
Ingredients
- For the Cobbler
-
6 ounces
granulated sugar
-
6 ounces
general purpose flour
-
4
eggs
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5 tablespoons
milk
-
2 1/2 - 3 pounds
peaches (strawberries, raspberries and sour cherries work too)
-
A drop of vanilla extract
- For the Basil Infused Cream (Totally Optional)
-
2 cups
light cream
-
5-6
small basil leaves, from the top of the plant
Directions
-
Preheat the oven to 325F.
-
Halve or cut the fruits, and reserve the juices. (Something like ½-inch pieces will do just fine.)
-
Beat the egg yolks with the sugar, milk and fruit juices until creamy. Add the vanilla extract and flour, and mix until fully combined.
-
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold the whites into the cake batter.
-
Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it with spatula. Arrange the fruit on top of the batter. (It will be a lot of fruit, but go for it.)
-
Bake for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. (It’s very important not to over-bake, so watch carefully. It will be done when it is barely done -- the crust will bubble up and cover the fruit partially, but the center should be very moist and close to creamy.)
-
Remove the pan from the oven, let it cool completely and place in the fridge for about three hours or overnight.
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About half an hour before serving, mix the cream with the basil leaves (use whole leaves, do not chop).
-
Serve the cobbler chilled, with a couple of drops of basil cream on top.
Aleksandra aka QueenSashy is a scientist by day, and cook, photographer and doodler by night. When she is not writing code and formulas, she blogs about food, life and everything in between on her blog, Three Little Halves. Three Little Halves was nominated for 2015 James Beard Awards and the finalist for 2014 Saveur Best Food Blog Awards. Aleksandra lives in New York City with her other two halves, Miss Pain and Dr. V.
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