Mixed Berry Cobbler

mixed berry cobblerI grew up with Grandma’s Peach Cobbler, and it was good.  I have had Cobbler in the South, and it was good.  I have made Cobbler while camping (Dutch Oven), and it was good.  Then I made this Mixed berry Cobbler, and all those others became background noise.  And yes, they got vanilla ice cream, too, which always helps cobber.  This one, however, was worthy of telling people about.

Why is it so good?  Warm berries with cold ice cream, slightly melting, and all mixing together.  Add a crunchy, crispy, bready biscuit into the mix, and it is like a pie mixed with, um, something creamy and delicious.  Like Ice Cream, but that breaks the metaphor as it is actually ice cream.  Ok, I’ll think on the metaphor while you make some cobbler.  We’ll see who gets finished first.

This is adapted and only slightly altered from the Pioneer Woman’s website.  She has some delicious stuff, and gives good directions and lots of photos.  You should take a look over there if you haven’t done so before.

I changed the recipe a bit because I am not a fan of the sugar on top of the cobbler, and I don’t think the zest added enough to be worth zesting something.  Plus I only have lemons around if i planned ahead, but I always have lemon juice in the fridge.  (I know, it isn’t as good as fresh lemons, but in many recipes you cannot taste the difference due to other strong flavors.  As always, disagree if you want, it won’t hurt my feelings.)  I also usually have a bag of mixed berries in the freezer, and they do really well in this recipe.

 

In a large skillet, mix the berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the the mixture just starts the simmer. Remove from heat and pour into a 2 quart baking dish.

When done it will look something like this.

mixed berry cobbler
Beat egg into milk and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add Crisco and cold butter, and cut into flour with a pastry cutter, two knives, or by pinching the flour and butter until mixed and all pieces are smaller than a pea.

cobbler biscuit dough cobbler biscuit dough

The texture should look like this, and if gently squeezed it should retain a shape, but come apart again when pushed on.

pea sized dough mix cobbler biscuit dough

Side not, if you don’t have a pastry cutter, go order one now.  They are fairly cheap, and will make this kind of thing a whole lot easier.  You may even find that you make biscuits, dough, and pastries more often if it isn’t tedious to do so.  Mine has vertical blades (not sharp) so when the butter is particularly cold they won’t bend.

pastry cutter

Add milk and egg mixture, and mix until combined.
Drop inch sized chunks of the dough onto the berry mixture in a semi-random pattern, trying to keep an even thickness across the berries.
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until browned on top and no longer doughy in the middle.

triple berry cobblermixed berry cobblerServe while hot in bowls, with vanilla ice cream.

mixed berry cobbler

 

Mixed Berry Cobbler
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8-10 servings
 
delicious berry dessert with a biscuit like crust, best served with ice cream. Adapted from http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/the_great_cobbl-2/
Ingredients
  • 1¾ lbs (6-7 cups) frozen mixed berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)
  • ¾ Cup Sugar
  • 1½ Tablespoon Corn Starch
  • 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

  • 1 large Egg
  • ½ Cup Milk

  • 2 Cups Flour
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • ¼ Cup Crisco
  • 4 Tablespoons cold Butter
Instructions
  1. In a large skillet, mix the berries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the the mixture just starts the simmer. Remove from heat and pour into a 2 quart baking dish.
  2. Beat egg into milk and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add Crisco and cold butter, and cut into flour with a pastry cutter, two knives, or by pinching the flour and butter until mixed and all pieces are smaller than a pea. Add milk and egg mixture, and mix until combined.
  4. Drop inch sized chunks of the dough onto the berry mixture in a semi-random pattern, trying to keep an even thickness across the berries.
  5. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until browned on top and no longer doughy in the middle. Serve while hot in bowls, with vanilla ice cream.

 

Peach Ice

peach iceWhen I was young, my Grandparents owned a peach orchard.  That meant that when summer came around, we had peaches.  Good, ripe, delicious peaches.  Peaches and Cream.  Peaches over ice cream.  Even just biting into a sweet peach and having the juice drip down your chin.  It was wonderful.

The season each year would end too quickly.  She would can a lot of peaches for the winter, and it was good to have them.  We always appreciated it.  But what made the best treat for us, even better than ice cream, candy, and cookies, was Grandma’s Peach Ice.

It’s a frozen treat, with the almost-fresh taste of the peaches, but cold, slushy, and amazing.  We always wanted it, and Grandma would horde it a little and dole out potions throughout the winter.  We always wanted more.  I find that I am doing the same thing with my kids.  They would eat an entire batch in one sitting if I let them!  But I know better now.  A little at a time, over the winter months, and they will always appreciate it.  Just like Grandma used to do.

 

This is best with good, ripe, sweet peaches.   And of course that orchard is long gone, so we find the best peaches we can.  The better the peaches taste, the better the Peach Ice will taste; but you knew that already.

peach ice

Start by making a simple syrup, by simmering the sugar and water together, stirring occasionally, until all the sugar is dissolved.  Set aside and cool completely.  And yeah, the photo looks like a pan with water in it.  That’s what the syrup should look like when dissolved.  Really.

peach ice.

Meanwhile, you need to remove the fuzzy peel of the peaches.  It’s good on a plain peach, but not so much in the ice.  David Lebovitz suggests cutting an X on one end of each peach, then putting them in boiling water for twenty seconds.  From there, put the into ice water just enough to shock them, maybe another 20 seconds, then onto a towel to cool.  Once cool, the peel comes off very easily.  It worked quite well, and you should totally check out his site, as he has some amazing recipes, and an incredibly good ice cream book.

peach ice peach ice

(boil then shock and peel)

peach ice peach ice

Remove the pits, and add the juice of one lemon.

peach ice

peach ice

Now crush the peaches.  I like to use a potato masher, but use whatever you have.

peach ice peach ice

Mix in the simple syrup, and put it in the freezer.

peach icepeach ice

Scrape the ice every hour or so while it freezes to introduce air.  You don’t have to do this step, but it makes it a lot easier to scoop later if you do.  (and if you don’t, just let it thaw a little on the counter before you try and scoop it)

peach ice

Once it is completely frozen, scoop some into a cup or bowl and add just a little bit of one of those lemon-lime soft drinks.  I like Sprite, but 7-Up, Fanta, Sierra Mist, etc, should all work.  And you just want a very little bit, then mix it into a slush.  If it doesn’t slush, add a little more.  if you past the slush state, you can add more Peach Ice, or drink it instead of eat it.

Experience the sheer Awesomosity of Peach Ice!

peach icepeach ice

And yeah, my wife reminds me that Awesomosity is not a real word.  And again, it should be, if for nothing else than to describe Peach Ice.

 

Peach Ice
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Best, most amazing, icy, cool, slushy peach awesomosity ever eaten!
Ingredients
  • 4 cups water
  • 1½ cup sugar

  • 1 lemon, juiced

  • 6 cups crushed fresh peaches, peel removed
Instructions
  1. boil water and sugar into a simple syrup. Set aside to cool.
  2. peel and crush peaches. Add lemon juice.
  3. stir in cooled simple syrup
  4. Put into freezer. As it freezes, occasionally scrape and mix to add air. Freeze completely.
  5. To serve: scoop, crush, etc, some into a glass and add a very small amount of Sprite to make into a slush.

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

pineapple upside down cakeOne of my daughters birthday came up this week, and one of our family traditions is that I will make them any cake they ask for.  Well, I will attempt, and do an heroic job of trying to make whatever cake they ask for.  point of fact, the strawberry jello cake that is all too popular in the Southern United States was a complete disaster, and I would be ashamed to claim it except for the fact that i think I totally nailed it and got it spot on.  It’s just a terrible cake.  (Ok, to be fair, maybe I missed something that would make it perfect; if so, please leave a comment on whatever you think I am missing).

Ok, I got distracted.  Back to the Pineapple Upside Down goodness.

I am an odd duck on some of my food opinions.  And that is ok, everyone has their style.  I like pineapple.  I love Pineapple Upside Down cake.  I absolutely hate, despise, and dislike pineapple on pizza.  Yeah, I’m that guy.

Anyway, my daughter this week said she wanted Pineapple Upside Down Cake for her birthday.  I was willing.  So we made it, and it turned out well.  The only issue was the candles.  We served it warm, because it is wonderful that way, and the candles kept melting.  We ended up having to stuff them in quick, light them, sing fast, and blow them out before they fell over.  Well, before they fell over again.

As for the cake, a few years ago we were looking for a great pineapple upside down cake recipe.  My friends call me a Food Snob, because I like things to be just right.  usually i look up recipes on the Internet and end up combining a few, tweaking a bit, and coming up with what i think would make an excellent recipe.  I then make it, tweak it, make it, tweak it, until I love it.

What I found was a Truly Great Pineapple Upside Down Cake Recipe.  It was not too sweet, not too dense, and had great flavor.  We have since made it at least a dozen times, and mostly use their recipe (with a few minor tweaks).  It always gets rave reviews, and is good warm from the oven (give it at least 15 minutes or you will burn every last taste bud; it’s really that hot).  It is also good the next day, room temperature, or refrigerated, etc.  It’s just plain good any way you eat it.

 

Get out your 12 inch Cast Iron skillet.Everyone should have a Cast Iron Skillet.  They are really good to work with, and fairly inexpensive, and other than the potential rust thing, you can practically never ruin them (just boil water in them and scrape them out, NEVER use soap, and put a thin layer or Crisco on them before you put them away.  They will last forever).

Make the caramel topping. Put the brown sugar and butter into the skillet on medium heat. Once the butter and sugar begin to melt, gently stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly. Arrange pineapple rings in a single layer on top of the caramel mixture, and half rings along the sides (one can not have too much pineapple in this recipe!).  Feel free to push the rings into the caramel a bit, just don’t burn yourself.

IMG_2213

Preheat the oven. Stir together the flours, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

IMG_2214

Now in your mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light (you want it incorporated well, and a light yellow color, but try not to over mix it or the cake’s texture won’t be as fluffy – aim for a little past where this photo is, when it has all come together).

IMG_2216

Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, just until they are mixed in, then beat in the vanilla. It will look like the batter is coming apart a little, but if you keep going it will come back together.

IMG_2217 IMG_2218

This is what it will look like after all the eggs are in. Now add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream (I do flour, sour cream, flour, sour cream, flour), beating just until mixed after each addition.

IMG_2220

Pour cake batter over caramel and pineapple in skillet.

IMG_2221

Bake cake until tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool cake in skillet for 15 minutes. (Who are we kidding?  It won’t be cool in 15 minute, but it will no longer be Napalm either).

IMG_2224

Turn cake out onto a platter. The easiest way is to use good hot pads, put the platter upside down over the skillet, hold them together, and flip away from you).  Serve warm or you can try to wait longer and serve at room temperature, but ours never lasts that long.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Oh, and If you are allergic to almonds, you can try substituting another five tablespoons of all purpose flour instead.  But don’t do it unless you really must.  The almonds give it a hint of nutty goodness.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12 slices
 
Truly Great Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Adapted from http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pineapple_upside_down_cake/
Ingredients
  • Topping

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1½ cans pineapple rings 20 oz cans

  • Cake

  • 1½ cups all purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons cake flour
  • 6 tablespoons ground almonds or almond flour
  • ¾ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoons salt
  • 1¾ cups sugar
  • 1 cup butter (two sticks) slightly softened or room temperature
  • 4 eggs
  • ¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup sour cream
Instructions
  1. Get out your 12 inch Cast Iron skillet. Make the caramel topping by putting the brown sugar and butter into the skillet on medium heat. Once the butter and sugar begin to melt, gently stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is bubbly. Arrange pineapple rings in a single layer on top of the caramel mixture, and half rings along the sides.
  2. Preheat oven to 325° F. Stir the flours, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
  3. In your mixer, beat the sugar and butter together until light. (you want it incorporated well, and a light yellow color, but try not to over mix it or the cake's texture won't be as fluffy)
  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. It will look like the batter is coming apart a little, but if you keep going it will come back together.
  5. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour cream, beating just until mixed after each addition.
  6. Pour cake batter over caramel and pineapple in the skillet.
  7. Bake cake until tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool cake in skillet for 15 minutes.
  8. Turn cake out onto a platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.