Sunday, November 27, 2011

Blackberry Ginger Cobbler, Perfected


I posted awhile ago that I had made a so-so cobbler, and have since experimented my way to the top. This one is the winner. Even Jon McPhie, who unbeknownst to me does not like berries, ate it and said, "this is actually good!" So ladies, make this with confidence.

I actually made this to take to someone's house for Thanksgiving, but, knowing that we would have to leave early - likely before dessert was served - I left it in the car, and Alan and I ate it ourselves later on that night... I'm embarrassed, but don't regret it.

Filling
~6 cups of blackberries (fresh or frozen - we used frozen and it was great)
1 T vanilla
1 t cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T corn starch (or tapioca, if you prefer)
juice & zest of half a lemon
about 1 inch of ginger root, minced/grated/shredded

Topping
1 cup flour (I did half unbleached white flour and half whole wheat pastry flour)
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
3 T brown sugar
4 T unsalted butter, cut into small chunks (I used salted butter and it was fine)
2/3 cup buttermilk

First mix up the filling and let it sit while you put the topping together. Preheat your oven to 425F.

For the topping, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or just use your hands to smash it into the dry ingredients until you form more of a crumble. It's okay if there are little bits of butter in there, but try to get all the big chunks mixed in. Then add the buttermilk and stir it into a dough.

Pour the filling into a buttered 9x9 baking dish and spoon the topping over it. Use a spatula to spread it out and cover most or all of the topping. I like to sprinkle it all with a little turbinado sugar afterwards. Then pop it in the over for about 25 minutes.

I like to bake it at a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time so the top part of the topping gets crispy but the bottom part stays kind of gooey. If you like it all cooked the same, decrease the temperature and bake for longer.

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