Peach Berry Cobbler

I’ve finally decided what to make with the gorgeous peaches I got last week at the farmers market. Peach Cobbler. I went back to the market and picked up some strawberries and blackberries to add to the fruit. The cobbler topping is a thin dumpling batter that bakes up into a moist soft top.

This recipe came about from making a topping that was just thin enough to slip between the pieces of fruit and cook in the juices, steaming to a perfect soft dumpling finish. Some of the batter stays on top of the fruit, where it is dusted with sugar and bakes up into a wonderful crunchy foil to the tender filling.



Filling
6 peaches sliced
1 pint strawberries halved
1 pint black berries
juice and zest of one lemon
½ C sugar
¼ tsp almond extract

Dumpling Topping

3 large eggs
½ C whole milk
3T butter melted
5T sour cream
1tsp vanilla extract
1 ¾ C all purpose flour
6T sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt

3T cinnamon sugar for topping

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter a 9 x 13” baking dish.

To make the filling slice the peaches into a large bowl, combine with the berries, lemon zest and juice, sugar and almond extract and mix well using your hands. Transfer the fruit to the prepared baking dish.

To make the dumpling topping combine the eggs milk, butter, sour cream and vanilla and whisk together in a large bowl. In a second bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk just until combined.

Spoon the batter over the fruit in an even layer. Some will sink in between the fruit and some will remain on top. Sprinkle the top with the cinnamon sugar. Bake the cobbler on the middle rack of the oven. Place a lined sheet pan on the rack bellow to catch the drippings. Bake for one hour. To test for doneness use a knife to peek into the topping to check the crumb structure to see if it has baked through. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature with ice cream, whipped cream or cream anglaise.

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Tartine by Elisabeth m Prueitt and Chad Robertson. They have a famous bakery down in San Francisco. I’m taking a eating trip down to the bay area next month and Tartine is one of the places I’m planning on visiting. I’ll give a full report after my trip.

Boccone Estivo

I’m working on a dessert for a big dinner that Peter and I are catering next week. I wanted to make something that would be light, full of fresh summer berries and easy to transport. I’ve decided to take my inspiration from one of my all time favorite cakes. The Boccone Dolce made at Papa Hayden. The cake consist of three layers of swiss meringue drizzled with semi-sweet chocolate, layered with fresh fruit and chantilly cream. The problem with this cake is that it’s very tall and pretty much impossible to cut and serve. Every time I attempt it I end up piling heaps of crushed meringue with fruit and whipped cream on to dessert plates. It’s always delicious, but not very pretty. So my challenge is to reinvent this cake into a gorgeous single serving desert that will profoundly satisfying and have a certain WOW factor.

I think one of the aspects of this desert that is very satisfying is the contrast in textures and flavors that it offers. There is the crisp meringue, then the velvety soft whipped cream and finally tart fresh fruit. I’m going to kick up this contrast between the whipped cream and the fruit. I’m going to add dollops of tart lemon cream along with Marion berry coulis. I think I’ll call it Boccone Estivo, translation: A mouthful of summer. If that’s wrong you can blame my terrible Italian professor in college.

For the lemon cream I’ll use this recipe which I call Ultra Lux Lemon Curd.
This recipe comes from Baking: From My Home to Yours By Dorie Greenspan.

1 C sugar
grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
¾ C fresh lemon juice
2 sticks plus 5 T unsalted butter, room temperature

Getting Ready: Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.
1. Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off the heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.
2. Set the bowl over the pan and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the lemon cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk—you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling—you'll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. Heads up at this point—the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don't stop whisking or checking the temperature, and have patience—depending on how much heat you're giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.
3. As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F. remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of the blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream stand, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.
4. Turn the blender to high (or turn on the processor) and, with the machine going, add the butter about 5 pieces at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed as you incorporate the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going—to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to blend the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.
5. Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. (The cream will keep in the fridge for 4 days or, tightly sealed, in the freezer for up to 2 months; thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.)