Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Georgia Peach Cobbler

Dad and Sharmyn brought home a crate of white peaches on Sunday. They were soft and ripe and juicy, and so we needed to process them right away. Dad and I peeled and cut until we had a large bowl filled to the brim with sliced peaches. Many of them were turned into pie filling and frozen for further use. I also made Bellinis and this. But I knew that Georgia Peach Cobbler would be next. Maida's got a bunch of peach recipes, and this is the perfect time of year to make them. And I had the perfect opportunity: friends coming for dinner! My friend Karen and I walked several miles to work up an appetite, and then we fixed a giant feast involving rice and beans and enchiladas and pork loin. And peach cobbler.
This is a very strange recipe, I found. Generally cobbler involves fruit on the bottom and cake- or biscuit-like substance on top. But this recipe involves a very thick batter on the bottom, and then fruit, and then a LOT of syrup on top of that. It looked very scary going in the oven--I wish I had pictures. But eventually the syrup soaked in and some of the cake rose to the top and it all coalesced into a yummy cobbler.
I liked this but didn't love it. The peaches were very sweet, and with the standard Maida sweetness, the recipe came off as one-dimensional. I would add some lemon juice or use slightly less ripe peaches if I made this again. Karen liked the caramel-y taste of the brown sugar, and that was nice. She also made the suggestion that whipped cream, rather than ice cream, would make a good accompaniment for this cobbler.
I hope to make a bunch more cobbler-type recipes soon, so I can compare and find my favorite in the book. In the meantime, here's this recipe:

Georgia Peach Cobbler

2 lbs. peaches (ripe, but not too ripe), peeled and sliced (frozen are OK)
2/3 c. (4.5 oz.) brown sugar
1 T. (0.5 oz) butter
1-1/4 c. water (part lemon juice if your peaches are very sweet)

2 T. (1 oz.) butter, room temperature
1 T. baking powder
Pinch salt
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. almond extract
2/3 c. (4.5 oz.) brown sugar
3/4 c. (6 oz.) milk
1-1/2 c. (6 oz.) sifted flour

Put the peaches, sugar, butter, and water in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture just barely comes to a boil. Set aside while you make the cake.
Heat the oven to 375; grease a 2-quart baking pan (or bigger--err on the side of too big). Also line a cookie sheet with foil and put the baking pan on it.
You can make the cake with a mixer or a food processor. Cream the butter with the baking powder and salt. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts, and then sugar. The mixture should be pretty fluffy. On low speed (or in a few quick pulses), add half the milk, then half the flour, then the rest of the milk, and the remaining flour. Dollop the batter into the pan and spread it around--it will be thin. Scoop the peaches out of the syrup and spread them over the batter. Then very carefully pour in the syrup. It will come up to the top of the pan and you will be very worried about how this will all turn out. Keep the faith. Very carefully put the cookie sheet/baking pan in the oven and bake it for 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 325 and give it another 20-25 minutes. It's hard to test this for doneness, but it should be bubbly and the cake part should be golden brown. Serve this warm with ice cream or whipped cream and feel happy it's summer.

2 comments:

  1. I alson think that white peaches--which have a wonderful delicate flavor--have less acid than regular peaches, which contributed to the sweetness. So it may not have been a fair assessment of Maida's original vision! Anyway it was delicious!

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  2. I agree with Karen, the white peaches are probably not best for cooking, but make great eating. Still, it was very tasty.

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