Jumbleberry Cobbler—Old-Fashioned
Fruit Dessert, New-Fangled Fruit Taste
By Nancy Baggett
Once the array of succulent summer fruits starts arriving in
the markets—juicy peaches and raspberries, frosty-blue blueberries,
golden apricots, glossy blackberries, sweet black and sour red
cherries, and fragrant plums—cobblers start appearing on
my family table. Like the nineteenth century American bakers who
first devised these simple, home-style desserts, I’m fond
of them because they are easier to prepare than pies, but just
as good for showing off the season’s gifts. However, thanks
to modern agriculture and efficient nation-wide shipping, I have
a much wider range of fruits available for my cobblers than cooks
of the past.
A
hundred and fifty years ago, the vast majority of Americans lived
in rural areas and had to depend on what grew in their own (or
generous neighbors’) gardens, woods, and orchards. When
the raspberries and blackberries along the fencerows and fields
ripened, families feasted on raspberry or blackberry cobblers.
When the peach or cherry trees in the yard bore fruit, folks ate
their fill of these same dishes, except plumped with just-picked
peaches or cherries. Since there was no way to refrigerate or
freeze the sudden riches and horticulturalists had just begun
devising varieties that would bear at different times during the
summer, each kind of fruit—and associated cobbler—usually
came and went in delicious succession.
Perhaps this is why cobblers, as well as other fruit desserts,
rarely called for a combination or medley of fruits until the
twentieth century. In fact, my search through nearly two dozen
nineteenth century cookbooks failed to turn up a single “combo”
cobbler recipe, though I found ones for peach, apple, blackberry,
cherry, and plums alone. The first recipe I’ve come upon
that pairs fruits is a Fig and Apple Cobbler in a1913 Crisco product
promotion cookbook, A Calendar of Dinners, by Marion Harris Neil.
Not only was the fruit pairing unusual, but the cobbler was cooked
in a covered pot on a burner like a slump or grunt, not oven-baked
modern cobblers are.
In the last three or four decades, as more and more cooks have
gained access to a bountiful assortment of fruits and berries
all summer long, the idea of mixing and matching them in desserts
like cobblers has taken hold. I made my own first fruit blend
cobbler about thirty years ago, when I had picked a pint of blackberries
in my woods and a friend gave me a quart of sour cherries from
an old (but very productive) tree in her yard. By combing the
two, and stretching them with a couple of supermarket plums, I
had enough to make a fairly generous cobbler. Not only was the
flavor full and the color glorious, but my family liked the fact
that the fruit filling was less seedy than one readied with blackberries
or raspberries alone. I’ve since had great success with
cobblers mingling peaches, raspberries and blueberries; blackberries
and purple plums; and strawberries, nectarines and raspberries;
and black cherries, sour cherries and plums. Each combination
produces its own fresh, uniquely appealing fruit taste.
Lately, a medley of five or six fruits and berries has started
turning up on dessert tables in a filling for what’s usually
called “bumbleberry” pie. Canadians often claim to
have come up with the bumbleberry mixture, but due to the fanciful
name and enticing taste, it has caught on with dessert makers
here in America, too. Most bumbleberry pies contain a blend of
strawberries, rhubarb, blackberries, raspberries and apples. To
capitalize on the concept yet keep things simple, I’ve created
a take-off called “jumbleberry” cobbler; the fruit
combination can be varied to suit the seasons.
Jumbleberry Cobbler
Feel free to adjust the quantities of fruits and berries to accommodate
what you have on hand. The only rule is that for best flavor use
slightly more berries than fruit. Also, taste the fruit blend
and, if necessary, bring up the flavor or add tartness with a
little lemon juice.
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups blackberries or red raspberries (or 1 cup of each)
1 1/4 cup coarsely chopped strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1 3/4 cups pitted and (unpeeled) chopped red or purple plums or
apricots
1 cup pitted dark, sweet cherries, coarsely chopped, or ripe peaches,
chopped
1 cup 1/2-inch pieces rhubarb or peeled and chopped tart apple
1/4 cup orange juice or cranberry juice cocktail
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice, to taste (optional)
Dough
1 1/2 cups all-purpose white flour
1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Generous 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil or corn oil
1/3 cup milk, approximately
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling on dough top, optional
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a 2 1/2- to 3-quart non-reactive, stove-top and oven-proof
casserole thoroughly stir together the sugar, corn¬starch
and cinnamon. Stir in the berries and fruit, orange juice and
butter until smoothly incorporated. Bring the mixture to a simmer
over medium-high heat. Con¬tinue simmering, stirring frequently,
just until the mixture thickens slightly and clears, about 2 minutes.
Taste and add lemon juice, if desired. Set aside.
For dough: In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking
powder, soda and salt. Pulse several times to mix ingredients.
Add the butter and oil to flour mixture. Process in on/off pluses
until the fat is cut in and mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Alternatively,
place the ingredients in a bowl. Cut the fat into the flour using
forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.)
Turn out the flour mixture into medium-sized bowl. Add 1/3 cup
milk, tossing with a fork just until evenly incorporated. If necessary,
stirring very lightly, gradually add enough more milk to form
cohesive, but not wet dough. Let the dough stand a minute or two.
Knead and shape it with flour-dusted hands into a smooth mass.
Pat the dough into a 3-4 inch disc. Lay between sheets of wax
paper. Press or roll out into a round 1/4-inch smaller than the
interior of the casserole used. Peel off one sheet of paper. Center
the dough, paper-side up, over the fruit mixture. Peel off and
discard the second sheet. Cut some decorative slashes in the dough
top for heat vents. Garnish the dough by sprinkling with 1 tablespoon
sugar, if desired.
Bake on the center oven rack for 35 to 40 minutes or until the
top is nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the dough center
comes out clean. Let cool at least 10 minutes and preferably 20
minutes before serving. Garnish servings with ice cream, if desired.
Keeps, covered, at room temperature for 36 hours, and then refrigerated
for up to 3 days longer. Reheat the refrigerated cobbler in a
low oven or let stand until room temperature before serving.
Makes about 8 servings.
About Nancy Baggett
Nancy Baggett is an award-winning cookbook author
and food journalist who specializes in baking and desserts. Her
brand new book, a full-color, 430-page work titled The All-American
Dessert Book, will be published this fall. It interweaves
tips, American baking history, lore, and nostalgia with recipes
Nancy gathered from all over the country. Her most recent cookbook,
the best-selling All American Cookie Book, was both a
2001 James Beard Cookbook Awards nominee and an International
Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) “Best Baking
Book” nominee. Nancy’s International Chocolate
Cookbook won the IACP “Best Baking Book” award
in 1991. To contact Nancy or to browse her recipe archive, visit
her website at http://www.kitchenlane.com.
