Happy July 4th!!!
/It's a beautiful day here in West Michigan and Steve and I look forward to celebrating the holiday this afternoon at Clear Lake with the extended TenHave clan.
Cherry-berry cobbler is on the dessert menu.
I'll give you a quick narrative (hmmm - do I ever do anything quickly in this blog?) of the recipe, my take on a peach blackberry cobbler from Emily Luchetti's book "Four-Star Desserts".
And since this is, after all, a classic American holiday, I'm giving you the ingredients in traditional American measures.
The cobbler topping is a delectable cornmeal dough made by combining 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal (I used fine yellow), 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and a pinch of salt.
Sand in one stick (4 oz) cool, diced butter to coarse crumbs, toss in 1-2 tablespoons ice water and mix just until it comes together. Easy-peasy!!
Roll the dough out between sheets of parchment or plastic wrap to a thickness of about 1/4 inch then chill in the fridge.
Cut desired shapes (I opted for a stars and stripes motif bien sûr) and hold them in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
Heat your oven to 350ºF.
For a 9x13 clear Pyrex dish I prepped about 8 cups of fruit, about half of which was a combo of Rainier and dark sweet cherries that I had purchased at the Fulton Farmer's market. Blueberries and raspberries filled out the mix.
Toss the fruit with a mixture of 1/2- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (see NOTE), 4 tablespoons cornstarch, a large pinch of salt and a half dozen or so grates of fresh nutmeg. I also added about 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice in to help brighten the taste of the fruit.
NOTE: when adding sugar, consider the natural sweetness or tartness of the fruit you are using; start your sugar addition on the lower end of the scale and add as needed to taste.
As you can see above, I have my dough cut and ready to go.
Place the fruit mixture in the Pyrex dish, drizzle 6 tablespoons melted butter over it and top with the dough shapes.
Egg wash the dough and sprinkle with sugar. I like raw sugar - it gives the finished product a nice crunch.
ready for the oven |
Bake at 350ºF for about 40-45 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the fruit filling is bubbling.
et voilà! |
You can be sure we'll be enjoying this later in the day with some vanilla ice cream, oh yeah.
And a Happy July 4th to all!!