I’m keenly interested in the place where baked fruit desserts and breakfast might intersect, even if I must nudge them there. What is the difference, after all, between an oaty crisp topping on seasonal fruit after dinner and an oaty granola topping on seasonal fruit early in the day? Sugar level? Proportion of whole grains? Ice cream? Impudence?
For example, a classic blueberry cobbler is often topped with a cake-like batter that one (fine: me; I mean me) might liken to a pancake. Here, it’s poured over fruit that’s syrupy and slightly tart-like a blueberry compote you’d pour over breakfast pancakes, but inverted. The pancake topping is mostly whole wheat, not too sweet, and a cinch to make. And, in a little twist I can never resist, it’s finished with a hot sugar crust. I first learned of these crusts in a recipe from Renee Erickson, the Seattle author and chef, who coats her peach cobbler batter with sugar and warm water. It feels all wrong to do until you see what happens in the oven: it develops a crisp lid, as on a great crème brûlée, that we’ve been tapping our spoons through for several blueberry seasons now.
This recipe was excerpted from ‘Smitten Kitchen Keepers’ by Deb Perelman. Buy the full book on Amazon. This book was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2022.
This cobbler is on the petite side, serving my family of four in moderate portions, but it can easily be doubled in an 8-by-8-inch or 2-quart baking dish to give more servings, or tripled in a 9-by-13-inch or 3-quart baking dish.
You can also make this entirely with either whole-wheat or all-purpose flour.
Buttermilk or regular milk works here; buttermilk provides a bit more of a pancake-y tang.
This is easily veganized with a nondairy fat (margarine or oil) and milk (almond, oat, or soy).
Recipe information
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil to catch the drips. Place blueberries in a 1-quart baking dish, and toss with lemon zest and juice.
Step 2
In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, salt, 4 tablespoons of the sugar, all of the milk or buttermilk, and vanilla. Thoroughly whisk in the baking powder. Add the flours, and stir just until they disappear. Dollop this batter over the berries, and use a knife or small offset spatula to spread it as evenly across the berries as you can. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar; then drizzle the hot water evenly over the sugar.
Step 3
Place the baking dish on the foil-lined baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes, until the berries are bubbling in their juices, the top is crackly-looking, and a toothpick inserted into the pancake topping comes out batter-free. Eat right away, as is, or finished with a dollop of plain yogurt or a drizzle of cold cream.
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Recipe notes
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