Bumbleberry Cobbler

   

WE do love a good cobbler in this house.   We grow all of our own soft fruits in our back garden . . .  black currants, strawberries, raspberries, tayberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.  We don't get a lot of anything at any one time . . . not yet anyways.  The bushes are all still young and so at best we get things in dibs and dabs.

  

I tend to freeze a lot of it so that eventually I end up with enough to make a pie or some such with them.   Hopefully with each year that passes, and as we add more bushes and plants, we will one day end up with a plethora of berry goodness.  We do have a lot of strawberries now each season.  It's taken almost four years to get to that point.  The rest will eventually catch up as well, but in the meantime I make a lot of bumbleberry goodies.

  

There really is no such thing as a bumble berry . . .  it's basically a name you give to a pie or dessert which has been created using at least three different berries . . . all "bumbled" together, and so it was with this Bumbleberry Cobbler which I baked for the missionaries when we had them for supper last Tuesday evening.  

  

Containing random bits of all of the berries we have available at the moment . . .  this cobbler had blueberries and blackberries from last year in it (we are still waiting for ours to ripen this year) mixed with black currants, tayberries and raspberries . . . the only real requirement being that there be at least three different types of berries . . . 

  

Lightly flavoured with lemon sugar and topped with a crumbly buttery, vanilla infused scone topping . . . and baked until the berries are all bubbling up and sweet . . .  the scone topping is browned and crisp . . .  and the whole thing together is one delicious mass of tasty cobbler goodness . . . 

  

Served warm . . .  each bowl holding a portion of that thickened sweetened fruit, along with some of that buttery cobbler topping . . .  and topped with a dollop of clotted cream, this dessert delights all of the senses.   In short . . .  it went down a real treat and the platter was licked totally and completely clean.  I love it when that happens.  Job done.




 *Bumbleberry Cobbler*

Serves 8 to 10

Printable Recipe

A gorgeous juicy mixed berry filling topped with a crumbly, butter, vanilla infused scone topping.  What's not to like about this?

For the filling:

850g of mixed summer berries (raspberries, blackberries, tayberries, blueberries, etc.) (6 cups)

200g granulated sugar (1 cup)

the finely grated zest of one lemon

3 TBS plain flour (all purpose)

For the topping:

158g of plain flour (1 cup plus 5 TBS all purpose)

6 TBS granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

6 TBS butter, chilled, cut into bits

1 large free range egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

To finish:

1 TBS granulated sugar

1/2 tsp  ground cinnamon  

To serve: (all optional)

clotted cream

pouring cream

ice cream

whipped cream  

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.  Butter a deep nine inch square baking dish.  Set aside.  Alternately you can use a 10 inch round quiche dish.

Mix together the sugar, lemon zest and flour for the filling.  Place the berries into a bowl.  Toss together with the flour mixture and pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading them out evenly and making sure all of the sugar, etc. is evenly distributed.  

Whisk the flour for the topping together with the sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Drop in the butter.  Rub it in with your finger tips until the mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs.   Whisk the egg and vanilla together with a fork and then toss this into the flour mixture, tossing it all together until evenly moistened.  It should be clumpy.   Scatter this over top of the fruit as evenly as you can.   Mix together the granulated sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle this evenly over all.  

Bake in the preheated oven until the topping it golden brown and the filling is cooked through and bubbly, some 45 to 50 minutes.  Cover lightly with some aluminium foil halfway through the baking time to prevent the topping from over-browning.  Serve warm with clotted cream, ice cream, whipped cream or pouring cream.