Peach Cobbler is one of my favorite desserts! It ranks right on up there near the top of the list. There are many recipes for fruit cobblers but in my book there is only one way to make a cobbler…and it’s not throwing some biscuit dough on top of sweetened fruit!
To me…a fruit cobbler is sweetened fruit topped with a sweet lattice-worked pastry brushed with butter and sprinkled with plenty of sugar for a crunchy topping. All those other recipes must have been devised by someone who was too lazy to do the work…because I’ve never eaten one that compares to a real fruit cobbler.
You can use different fruits for cobblers…but peaches are my favorite…cherry and apple are not bad…but peach reigns supreme. It is best to use fresh peaches..or fresh peaches that you have frozen at home. For some reason…even the frozen peaches at the supermarket just don’t taste the same.
Many years ago I planted peach trees…just to have peaches for cobbler! I planted an Indian or white peach tree that has ripe peaches in June and a more common peach tree that gives me ripened peaches in July or early August. I love the white peaches…they are a large, juicy, and delicate peach that you don’t need to peel for cobbler.
I start if using fresh peaches by cutting them in slices off the pit. My white peaches are a cling peach so the peach clings to the pit. I usually just cut them off into the baking dish I’m using for my cobbler or a bowl. As I peel and slice the first one I sprinkle it with plenty of sugar and squeeze the juice of a lemon over the top. Adding peaches I stir this mixture to make sure all the peaches are covered with the sugar mixture to keep them from turning brown. When I finish I put the peaches in the refrigerator while I make my pastry.
You can make the pastry by hand but I use my food processor. It is fast and easy! I measure the flour, sugar, and salt into the processor and pulse it a couple of times to mix it well.
Then I cut my butter in half lengthwise and then cut those halves in half again.
Then I cut them those into small squares and add to the flour mixture. Make sure your butter is icy cold. You can even stick it in the freezer for a few minutes.
I pulse this about 10 times or until the mixture is rough crumbs…there should be small chunks of butter in the mixture.
Then I add enough ice water to make the mixture stick together when you press it with your finger.
As I am adding the water I probably don’t process but about 30 seconds. Then remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half.
Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
My dough is still crumbly when I divide it so I use the plastic wrap to press it gently into a disk shape. Refrigerate at least an hour before rolling out for the top. You can freeze the other half of the pastry to use later for a single pie crust or another cobbler.
While the pastry is chillin’ in the frig….I mix about ¼ cup of cornstarch, ¼ cup of sugar, with 1 ½ cup of cold water and whisk it until dissolved in a small pan. Then I cook it over high heat until thick and transparent. I prefer to do this rather than just mix up raw cornstarch in the peaches. Peaches cook very quick and sometimes the cornstarch doesn’t have time to cook well enough to thicken properly and cook the starchy taste out of the cobbler.
Mix that with your peaches and pour into a baking dish.
Melt one stick of butter and drizzle about ½ of it across your peaches. Save the rest to brush on your pastry top.
Roll out one half of the pastry on a floured large cutting board to about 1/8 of an inch thick.
Using a pastry cutter cut long strips of pastry about ½ to ¾ of an inch wide. You can just lay the strips lengthwise across the cobbler and then lay shorter strips across the width of the cobbler. Your strips should be about ½ of an inch apart.
If you really want your cobbler to look pretty you can weave each strip over and under the other to make a lattice top.
Brush the top of the pastry with remaining butter and sprinkle with plenty of sugar. Bake at 350º for 45 minutes – 1 hour. If your top has not browned turn on the broiler and brown the top…don’t leave it…watch as it browns…it burns easily.
I love peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream or just plain cream poured over the top.
A perfect dessert for July 4th!
From my kitchen…to yours…give this a try….it is delicious!
Leah
Peach Cobbler
Crust:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) butter (chilled very cold)
½ – ¾ cup cold water (you can just use cold tap water)
Filling:
8 -10 cups fresh peaches – sliced
Juice of fresh lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon ( if desired)
2 cups sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 ½ cup cold water
Sugar
1 stick melted butter
Crust:
In food processor pulse 2-3 times until mixed flour, salt, and sugar. Cut butter into 16 equal pieces and drop into processor while pulsing about 16 times. Mixture should resemble course cornmeal. Add cold water and process about 30 seconds. Half mixture and wrap each half with plastic wrap. Flatten into disc shape and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Crust may be made the day before and stored in refrigerator.
If mixing crust by hand. Mix flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in chilled butter until it resembles course cornmeal. Sprinkle with cold water and cut with pastry cutter until dough sticks together. Wrap and chill.
Filling:
Place sliced peaches in large bowl and toss with lemon juice and 1 ½ cups of sugar.
Whisk cornstarch with cold water and remaining ½ cup sugar. Cook over high heat until thickened and transparent. Mix with peaches and pour peach mixture in large rectangular baking dish. Drizzle peach mixture with one half of melted butter.
Roll out crust until about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into strips with pastry cutter. Place strips vertically across peach mixture about ¼ inch apart. Place strips horizontally across peach mixture at same distance. I like to weave my strips by just lifting each strip and weaving under and over carefully as needed.
Brush pastry top with all the melted butter. It will flow between cracks into filling. Then sprinkle top of pastry with plenty of sugar. Bake at 350° for about 45 minutes – 1 hour or until bubbly and crust is browned. You can do the final browning of crust under the broiler.
One of my favorite desserts…and I do like desserts…if you haven’t noticed…is Lemon Filled Angel Food Cake. Now the name is not pretentious it’s just a down-to-earth description of the recipe. But…don’t let that stop you from trying this recipe. It is the most delectable…mouth-watering dessert that you could ever hope to taste!
It’s a little long but everything is fairly easy…and there are a few substitutions you could take if you were in a hurry I suppose…but I always make it from scratch!
The things you will need to have on hand are an Angel Food Cake pan…just a plain tube cake pan with straight sides and a removable bottom, Cream of Tarter, which you can find in the spice section of the supermarket and cake flour.
There are four separate recipes and all can be made in advance…
Angel Food Cake
Lemon Curd
Lemon Filling
Whipped Cream Frosting
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Let’s start with the Lemon Curd…
I usually make the Lemon Curd at least a day or two ahead of time. It will keep in the refrigerator for at least two weeks. I use the yolks from the egg whites I need for my Angel Food Cake. So you can separate the eggs and just store your whites in the refrigerator if you are using them in a couple of days or if it will be longer…freeze them. Egg Whites freeze very well…I’m always making puddings or recipes that only calls for the yolk…but I never throw away the white…I keep a jar in the freezer of frozen egg whites and just add to it when I have some to freeze. Set it out of the freezer for a few hours before using to thaw.
Separate your eggs…in case you are new to this or have never done it before…don’t hesitate…this is what to do…
You will need two large 4 cup measuring cups or bowls and one small bowl. Gently crack your egg and half it as evenly as you can…hold it over your small bowl. Pour the yolk back and forth from one half of the eggshell to the other half letting the white drain into the small bowl.
When you have drained all the white out of the eggshell pour the yolk into one of the larger cups/bowls. Then pour the white from the small bowl into the remaining large cup/bowl. You need to do this in case the yolk is broken…the whites will not whip well if you have any yolk mixed in…if you have a cracked yolk…just discard that egg. If you use a small bowl…you won’t risk ruining a whole bowl of whites…it will only be that one.
Combine your yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and sugar into a heavy pan. Whisk to mix well and cook over medium heat stirring constantly. I like to use a spatula so that I can scrape the bottom and sides of the pan. Cook until the mixture is thick and coats the spatula…about 5-7 minutes.
Remove the saucepan from heat and add the butter a tablespoon at a time whisking until each is melted.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Press plastic wrap to the surface to prevent skin from forming on the top. Cool and then chill in refrigerator until firm.
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And now the Angel Food Cake….but a few basics first…
Angel Food Cake is exactly like its name…soft, airy, light, and puffy! It is a simple cake to bake…actually a one bowl cake. The only tricks are not over-beating the egg whites and folding in the dry ingredients. If you are a “stickler” for details you can use cake flour…I usually don’t have it on hand and I have good luck with regular flour as long as it is sifted. Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature before beating.
Sift your powdered sugar and flour before measuring. I usually do this on a piece of wax paper…then measure into a bowl. Add the salt and sift all together.
Beat your egg whites in a mixer on high until they are frothy. Add the granulated sugar, cream of tarter, and vanilla and continue to beat until they form soft droopy peaks.
Remove bowl from mixer.
Sprinkle about ¼ of the flour mixture over egg whites and gently fold the flour into the egg whites by lowering your spatula to the bottom of the bowl on the far side of the bowl and gently bringing the spatula towards you across the bottom of the bowl and lifting it up through the whites and folding the mixture over and repeating until you don’t see the dry ingredients.
Repeat in fourths with the rest of the dry ingredients.
Gently scrape the batter into your cake pan and place the pan in your oven at 350º for 40-45 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.
Remove the pan from the oven and invert the pan. Most Angel Food cake pans are designed with little feet or an elongated tube to turn them over and stand them up after cooking. If your cake pan does not… turn it over a wine bottle or some other type of bottle with a long neck. Let the cake cool completely.
The cake will pull away from the edges of the pan and you can take a knife to loosen it further. It will fall out of the pan onto a rack or plate. If you are not using the cake until later…cover in plastic wrap.
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The Lemon Filling
Soften your cream cheese to room temperature. Place in mixer bowl. Mix until very creamy and all lumps are smooth. Add the Eagle Brand milk and mix well. Add about two thirds of the Lemon Curd and mix well. Refrigerate until well chilled and thick.
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Lemon Frosting
Whip the cream until thick and stiff peaks form. Add remaining Lemon Curd and 1/2 cup of Lemon Filling. Mix well and refrigerate until well chilled and firm.
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Now…to put this cake together…
Put your Angel Food Cake top down on cake plate.
Take a serrated knife and slice the bottom ( which is now the top) off the cake about 2 inches thick.
Very gently lift from cake and lay aside on a rack or plate.
Take your serrated knife and cut about around edges of cake leaving about ¾ of an inch around the side and middle of the cake. Using your fingers gently pull out clumps of the middle of the cake. They should be about 1 inch in diameter. This is all very forgiving…you don’t have to be real accurate. Just make sure to leave enough thickness around the edges and on the bottom to hold the filling.
Right now…you are thinking…I have made the biggest mess of this cake…it’s completely torn apart. But don’t worry…we are about to fix it…
Take the clumps and add them to the Lemon Filling…the one with the cream cheese…not the whipped cream. Fold the cake clumps into the mixture until well coated. Spoon the filling into the hollowed out cake.
Mound it up a little at the top and then gently set the top of the cake that you sliced off on the top.
See I told you…it’s beginning to look OK….
Now cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate the entire cake for several hours or overnight.
Before serving frost the cake with the Lemon Frosting. You might have to take a spatula and stir the frosting until it’s spreadable. Refrigerate your cake …unwrapped…for another couple of hours to allow the frosting to chill and set on the cake.
Then you can garnish with lemon peel…or fresh mint…or like I did…I have a little rose bush blooming with the cutest little roses…and I don’t use spray of any kind on them…or you can use any kind of edible flower.
Now take my word….by all means…don’t you dare taste the Lemon Curd, Lemon Filling, or Lemon Frosting before using…or you might find yourself having to make more for the cake. If you are lucky you will have a little of the Lemon Filling left to taste after filling the cake.
Should you have any cake leftover…it keeps in the refrigerator very well for several days…but it won’t last that long!
Give this a try…I know it seems long…but it’s really very simple…especially if you take it one part at a time. Make it over a couple of days…everything has to be chilled for several hours. I wanted to give you detailed instructions and show you how everything looks in each step. You won’t be sorry…
Hope you enjoy it…
Leah
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The Recipe
LEMON FILLED-ANGEL FOOD CAKE
Lemon Curd
12 egg yolks
1 ½ cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest from 6-8 lemons
2 sticks butter
Combine egg yolks, sugar, ¾ cup lemon juice (reserve ¼ cup for later), and lemon zest (reserve 1-2 tablespoons zest for Lemon Frosting later) in medium sized heavy saucepan. Whisk together until well mixed.
Cook over medium heat stirring with a spatula and whisking until thickened. The mixture will start to turn slightly transparent and will coat the back of a spoon. It should take about 5 – 8 minutes.
Remove from heat and add the remaining lemon juice and whisk it in. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time stirring until each has melted.
Pour the mixture into bowl and cover the top with plastic wrap patting it down across surface of the curd. This will avoid a skin from forming over top. Cool and refrigerate overnight or for several hours until firm and well chilled.
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Angel Food Cake
2 cups egg whites (12 – 16 eggs)
2 cups powdered sugar (sift before measuring)
1 ¼ cup cake flour (if you do not have cake flour use regular flour and dip out three tablespoons) (sift before measuring)
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cream of tarter
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Heat oven to 350º.
Let egg whites stand until they are at room temperature.
Sift together the sifted powdered sugar, sifted flour, and salt.
Beat egg whites until frothy. Add cream of tarter and beat until soft peaks form. Continue to beat whites and add the granulated sugar gradually. Continue beating until whites are thickened and forming soft droopy peaks. Beat in vanilla.
Remove bowl from mixer and sprinkle one fourth sifted dry ingredients over whites. Use a spatula and gently fold in until well mixed. Fold in remaining dry ingredients one third at a time.
Gently pour batter evenly into ungreased tube pan and bake until top is light golden and springs back when touched lightly and a tester comes out clean about 40-45 minutes.
Invert pan over empty wine bottle if needed and cool completely.
To remove cake from pan run the tip of knife around outer edges of pan. Tap the bottom of the pan on counter until cake is loosened. Cover pan with wire rack or cake plate and invert pan. Gently push the bottom of the pan from sides and remove pan. Run knife around bottom of pan and remove the bottom of pan. Cake will lift out of pan and bottom easily like a big soft pillow.
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Lemon Filling
1 package cream cheese – 8 oz.
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
Lemon Curd (reserve one third for Lemon Frosting)
Beat softened cream cheese in mixer until smooth. Add Eagle Brand milk and mix well. Add Lemon Curd (reserving one third for frosting). Mix well and pour into covered container. Chill until very firm.
Reserve ½ cup of this Lemon Filling along with the one third of the Lemon Curd to mix with whipped cream for the Lemon Frosting.
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Lemon Frosting
2 cups heavy cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
Lemon Curd
Lemon Filling
Whip cream until it starts to thicken. Add the sugar, salt, and vanilla and beat until very thick. Stir in remaining Lemon Curd and Lemon Filling and mix until well blended. Refrigerate until well chilled. Give it a quick stir before frosting cake.
To assemble cake:
Cut top off cake and hollow out the insides of cake leaving ½ inch along sides and bottom. Tear out clumps of cake and add the clumps to Lemon Filling. Stir to coat all the cake clumps with the filling. Spoon filling into hollowed out cake heaping it just above top. Replace top of cake over filling. Refrigerate until well chilled and firm.
Frost the cake with the Lemon Frosting and garnish as desired.
