A load of cobblers – fruit recipes for summer puddings

The ‘cobbler’ is, in my view, an American version of the ‘crumble’. Both contain this food equation:

Peach cobbler recipe

Serves 4-6

Level: easy

Equipment: 20cm round baking dish

For the fruit base:
6 peaches, skinned, pitted, quartered (easy to skin with a small sharp knife)
1 tbsp vanilla paste
Zest and juice of 1 lime
50g maple sugar, coconut sugar or demerara sugar

For the ‘cobbled’ topping:
50g macadamia nuts or candlenuts, crushed
100g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
50g sugar of your choice (as above or white sugar)
100g salted butter

1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC.
2. Toss the peaches with the rest of the fruit base ingredients into the baking dish. 
3. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. 
4. Make the topping by combining the nuts, flour, salt, sugar and butter together in a bowl and rubbing the butter into the dry mixture until its texture resembles rough breadcrumbs. 
5. Remove the baked peaches from the oven.
6. Using a tablespoon, make 6 mounded spoonfuls of the ‘cobbled’ topping and place them on top of the fruit base. 
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 180ºC.
8. Serve with vanilla ice cream or double cream. 

Cherry Corn Cobbler recipe (gluten free)

Serves 6

Level: easy

Equipment: 25cm round baking dish

For the fruit base:
750g fresh cherries (sweet or sour), pitted, de-stemmed
1 tbsp vanilla paste
1 heaped tbsp arrow root or cornflour
1/2 tsp salt
50g light brown sugar
Juice of half a lemon (if using sweet cherries)

For the ‘cobbled’ topping:
150g masa harina flour
100g sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
80g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125ml buttermilk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC.
2. Toss the cherries with the rest of the fruit base ingredients into a baking dish. 
3. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. 
4. Make the topping by combining the masa, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, in a bowl or food processor.
5. Add the butter and process until it looks like breadcrumbs if using a food processor. If doing by hand use cool fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients, again until it looks like breadcrumbs.
6. Then add the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract to the topping mixture.
7. Remove the baked cherries from the oven.
8. Using a tablespoon, make 6 to 8 mounded spoonfuls of the ‘cobbled’ topping and place them on top of the fruit base. 
9. Bake for 20 minutes at 180ºC.
10. Serve with vanilla ice cream or double cream.