Tasty

Summer Cobbler with Buttermilk Crust

First appeared in Grainews in September 2019

After making this favourite almost daily in my restaurant, Foodsmith, I now take this freezer-friendly cobbler to potlucks, year in and year out. In the summer, I use fruit fresh from the market. In the winter, I use frozen fruits and berries, or apples and pears enlivened with simmered dried fruit.

summer cobbler!
Serves 12-16 generously
Filling:

*8 c.

fresh/frozen fruit

1

orange, zest only

1/2 t.

freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 t.

ground ginger

1/2

cinnamon stick

2 T.

cornstarch

2 c.

water or juice
orange, zest only
* raspberry and grape with rosemary apple, strawberry, rhubarb cherry and peach with nutmeg peach and blackberry with lime zest peach and blueberry with nutmeg cherry and black currant or blackberry and thyme very berry (raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, Saskatoon berry) with lime zest three cherry (Montmorency, sour or Queen Anne, Bing) pear and apricot (fresh or dried)
dried cranberry and apple with crystallized ginger plum and peach Damson plum and cherry plum and apple with cinnamon and cloves or cinnamon and basil grape and raspberry with rosemary
**Topping:

1/3 c.

unsalted butter

1/2 c.

sugar

1 1/2 c.

all-purpose flour

2 t.

baking soda

1 t.

cream of tarter

1/2 t.

salt

3/4 c.

buttermilk

1

egg

Directions

Set the oven at 375 F. In a large pot, combine the filling ingredients. Bring to a boil, fish out the cinnamon stick, then pour carefully into a large shallow casserole with a diameter of 18″. Place on a cookie sheet with a lip to minimize spillage.

To make the topping, cream together the butter and sugar, then stir together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix together the wet ingredients in a bowl or large measuring cup. Beginning and ending with dry ingredients, alternately add the wet and dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix only until blended, then immediately drop by spoonfuls onto the outer edges of the fruit filling. Do not cover the centre with batter — it takes too long to bake through. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until done. Serve warm or cool.

** For a gluten-free streusel alternative, mix together 1/2 c. melted butter, 1 ½ c. oatmeal, ½ c. rice flour or cornmeal, ½ c. coconut, and 3/4 c. sugar. Mix together to form crumbs. Sprinkle over the filing and bake.

“Bread & Water is an emotionally arresting, beautifully written series of essays.”

~ Jurors’ Citation, Saskatchewan Book Awards, University of Saskatchewan President’s Office Nonfiction Award

“Food is a wonderful agent for storytelling... and Bread & Water demonstrates this brilliantly.”

~ Sarah Ramsey, starred review, Quill & Quire

“[Bread & Water is] An amazing feast... riveting... eloquent.”

~ Patricia D. Robertson, Winnipeg Free Press

“[Bread & Water is a] sensuous experience; she brings her poet’s eye and ear to everything within her purview.”

~ Professor emerita Kathleen Wall, Blue Duets

“A deep love of the art of cooking that includes the language of fine dining (cassoulet, confit) even if the lamb was raised in Olds and she picked the rhubarb herself... she impressively manages this collision of worlds with a wholesome, approachable style.”

~ Megan Clark, Alberta Views

“These finely focussed poems [in Wildness Rushing In] invite us into a sensuous and emotionally rich landscape.”

~ Don McKay, winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize

“The writing [in Wildness Rushing In] is honed and textured, the senses so alive that you can practically taste the language. There are moments of brilliance rare in a first book.”

~ Jurors’ Citation, Saskatchewan Book Awards

“dee Hobsbawn-Smith’s stories [in What Can’t Be Undone] are written with a poetic edge. Her descriptions, particularly western landscapes, are often luxurious, lending themselves a kind of nuanced impression, a delicate fingerprint on the reader’s mind. "

~ Lee Kvern, Alberta Views

“[Foodshed is] A rich encyclopedia of facts, farm-gate lore and original recipes... a politically engaging narrative in which Hobsbawn-Smith articulates the challenges and joys faced by small-scale producers... don’ t let the alphabet theme fool you. This is no tame nursery rhyme; it is a locavore call to arms.”

~ P.D. Robertson, The Globe & Mail

Taste Canada Book Awards Finalist
Taste Canada Book Awards Finalist

Contact

Contact

Skip to content