Sometimes mom calls me and says in a very specific voice that she has a question. And I know right away what's coming: She has a case to bake for, and she wants me to recommend a recipe.
My mother is extremely skilled in the kitchen, but she is not a skilled baker. She is a person who matures sometimes, when a certain occasion arises. So when she asks me for a recipe recommendation, I know she's looking for one with a short list of basic ingredients, quick prep time, and simple techniques. And, most importantly, something that will always work out, even if she gets a few things wrong along the way.
Write our Fresh fruit cobbler. This is one I'd recommend to her — or bakers of any level looking for a light, leak-proof bake — in a heartbeat. It's a fruit cake batter cobbler (as opposed to a cookie cobbler, more on that below!), but if the word “cake” makes you think of creaming butter or carefully folding it into flour, think again. This cake-style batter just involves whipping flour, baking powder and salt together; whisking eggs, sugar, butter and milk; and then combining them. Most importantly, there is no need for a mixer.
Christina's dough
Fresh fruit pie is wonderful. Fruit cobbler might be even better.
I love pie so much that I wrote a whole book about it, but there are some times I just don't feel like doing it. That is, when it's too hot to deal with cold pastries or when I'd rather take a nap than prepare dessert a few hours before dinner. In those cases, Fresh fruit cobbler – ready in less than an hour, start to finish – is my first choice.
Shoemaker is much easier to make than pie, much more flexible and much quicker, which is what I'm looking for in a summer recipe. (But if you have your heart set on pie, this video of our favorite pie tips will come in handy). You can make a cobbler with almost any type of fresh fruit or a combination, and the recipe works even if you don't have all four cups of fruit called for (and psst, you can add some frozen fruit to make up the difference). Baking gluten free? Measure for measuring flour can be switched without missing a beat.
And, helpfully, cobbler can be baked in almost any baking dish, so if you have something a little smaller or larger than 9″ Square Pan or 2 1/2 quart casseroles called for in the recipe, you can still make it work. Round cake pans, rectangular baking dishes, or even a Dutch oven can do the trick.
Food photography and styling by Liz Neily
Fruit cobbler wine
Now while this recipe is my cobbler preference, there are other styles you can choose to bake this summer. In addition to this cake-style cobbler, there are also cookie-style cobblers. These include a fluffy cookie topping that is rolled on top of the fruit before baking. It tends to be less sweet than cake cobblers (not shocking, given the difference between cookies and cake), and I've found that it often contains a higher ratio of fruit to filling. our Light fruit cobbler is a great example of this style and is flexible enough to include a wide range of fruit fillings, so you can adapt it to your summer bounty. (Include the option almond flour for the best taste and texture.)
There is also this new one Fruit cobbler with peanut butter cookies, which replaces cookies with a cookie tip. Using White whole wheat flour on the cookie it adds a subtle hint to complement the peanut butter and enhance the cobbler's PB&J-inspired identity.
So put your cough on. This year, the dog days of summer are all about cobblers.
Looking for a prettier way to bake with summer fruit? Our own Kye Ameden is here to teach you how to make mirror glaze with berries:
Cover photo by Kristin Teig.
