We’ve gotten to know each other well enough that I feel I can be completely honest with you. Want a dose of full-disclosure truthfulness?
I don’t dream in chocolate. You’re probably never going to find a brownie archive on my site. Sure, I’ll choke down a chocolate chip cookie from time to time and I’m not above eating nutella by the spoonful, but a really good fresh fruit cobbler or pie is the kind of dessert that actually makes me weak in the knees.
Here’s a good one: warm, just-sweet-enough baked apricots and strawberries, with a rich biscuit topping, dolloped with a spoonful of whipped cream. Ahhhh…it was my first cobbler of the season and I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it. Over the winter, you forget just how good ripe stone fruits and berries are. Then you encounter a display of fruit you haven’t seen in almost a year, throw together a cobbler, and quickly remember.
This whole cobbler was sort of an accident. I had thought the apricots were destined for Saturday morning scones, but Saturday morning turned into Saturday afternoon, turned into Sunday evening, turned into OMG–I better do something with these apricots before it’s too late. I snapped into action and turned them into dessert.
Ready, set, let’s bake.
Peel and quarter a few apricots. Toss them in a pie pan. Slice a bunch of strawberries and add them to the pan. Zest a lemon over the top, sweeten it up with a bit of sugar, balance with a pinch of salt. Add a little cornstarch to thicken the juices as the fruit breaks down. Stir it all together and bake ’til warm and bubbly.
While the fruit bakes, mix up the cobbler topping. Flour, soda, powder, sugar, and salt meet melted butter, cream, lemon juice, vanilla. Pull the fruit from the oven and make 6 mounds of cobbler topping on the hot fruit. Sprinkle with a touch of sugar and pop it back in the oven. Wait patiently. Whip some cream if you need a distraction from the intoxicating aroma that’s taking over your entire house.
Done! Get in there while it’s still warm. My favorite kind of dessert, back in season…it’s going to be a delicious summer.
- FOR THE FRUIT FILLING
- 8 Apricots, peeled and quartered
- 1 qt. Strawberries, sliced
- zest of 1 Lemon
- ⅓ c. Sugar
- 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
- pinch of Salt
- FOR THE COBBLER TOPPING
- 1 c. All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ c. Sugar plus additional for sprinkling on top
- 2 tsp. Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp. Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp. Salt
- ⅓ c. Heavy Cream mixed with 1 tsp. Lemon Juice OR ⅓ c. Buttermilk
- 4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled
- ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
- Whipped Cream or Ice Cream for serving
- Preheat oven to 400°.
- Place the fruit in a deep-dish pie pan. Add lemon zest, ⅓ c. sugar, cornstarch, and a pinch of salt and stir to evenly coat. Bake, on a foil-lined baking sheet (to catch any juice that might bubble over the top), until the fruit begins to release liquid and bubble, about 25 minutes.
- About 5 minutes before you remove the fruit from the oven, make the cobbler topping. Whisk together the flour, ¼ c. sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine the cream mixture (or buttermilk), butter, and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined (it will be a little crumbly).
- Remove the hot fruit from the oven and top with 6 mounds of the cobbler topping. Dust the tops with a little sugar and return to the oven. Bake until golden and cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving. I like mine best with a spoonful of barely sweetened, softly whipped cream. Yum.
Thank you very much for the recipe. I baked it twice already. First time I added a little bit of peaches to the filling. It was delicious! The only thing to watch for is the amount of fruit you use. I wanted to have a lot of the filling, so I added more fruit and had to clean my oven after… So, be careful, put a cookie sheet under (covered with foil). The second time I mixed apricots and blueberries (didn’t have strawberries this time). I also added a tiny bit of almond extract to the fruit. This time I was more careful with the amount of fruit I used. It’s still in the oven. I am sure it’s delicious as well. Thank you again!
Sorry about your oven–a surprise oven cleaning is never fun. I will add your helpful cookie sheet tip to the recipe. Glad you liked the cobbler and thanks for letting me know it was (other than the mess) a success!
Just made this after converting cups to grams, although I do have a set of American cups I used as well! It was absolutely delicious, my 89 year old father who is visiting was full of compliments.
I used Greek yoghurt instead of cream or buttermilk and I don’t think it made much difference.
Thank you!
Glad you liked it!