Karl’s Stone Fruit Tart / Cobbler

Last week, Jan went to the Central Valley to visit her friends and she came back with a mound of fruit. Since most of it was still not ripe I put it into brown paper bags to ripen. This Sunday it all came ripe at once. What to do? A fruit cobbler came to mind.

Unfortunately, I have not made a lot of cobblers and I did not know exactly how it should be made—even the recipe I looked at was incorrect. When you make a cobbler you put the fruit in the pan and then top it with the batter. I put the batter in the pan and topped it with the fruit—this made my dish a TART.

Karl’s Stone Fruit Tart / Cobbler

Ingredients

Fruit

4-6 cups fresh stone fruit (I used nectarines, plums, and pluots)
3 Tbs. corn starch
2 Tbs. brown sugar
pinch of Kosher salt

Crust

1 egg
1 cup milk (I used low fat, lactose free)
⅓ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

2 Cups AP flour
2 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free preferred)
⅛ tsp. Kosher salt

6 Tbs. melted butter, separate uses

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375º F.

2. Peel and chop the fruit into small slices.

Tip: You may use any fruit that you have.

3. Put the fruit in a bowl and add the corn starch, sugar, and salt.

4. Mix the fruit well and set it aside to macerate for half an hour.

Tip: The sugar draws out some of the juices softening the fruit and creating a bit of a sauce.

5. Put the egg into a small bowl and scramble it well.

6. Mix in the milk, sugar, and vanilla and set it aside.

Tip: Continue mixing the wet ingredients, until the sugar has completely dissolved.

7. Put the flour in a large bowl and add the baking powder and salt.

8. Whisk the dry ingredients to blend the ingredients together well.

9. Melt the butter in a cup and brush about a tablespoon onto the bottom and sides of your baking pan.

10. Pour the rest of the butter into the flour and mix it in well.

Note: The butter binds with the flour to reduce the amount of gluten that is formed and keeps your crust tender.

11A. To make a TART, put the crust in the bottom of the pan and top it with the fruit—with all of the released juices.

11B. To make a COBBLER, put the fruit—with all of the released juices—in the bottom of the pan and top it with the crust.

12. Bake for 40-50 minutes.

13. Allow the tort/cobbler to cool slightly before serving.

Tip: Very good with a scoop of ice cream and a splash of brandy.