A quick Summer sweet
Apricots are fresh for such a short season and I look forward to it every year.
Last year, I bought a case of gorgeous small apricots from Patricia’s at the City Centre Market downtown and canned and jammed most of them.
This year, my eldest daughter is back home for a bit, and it is a good time to enjoy baking with the fresh fruit – and eating it fresh.
Apricot cobbler is not a recipe I grew up with. I have made it a couple of times, and appreciate that it is a quick delicious dessert for a crowd with vanilla ice-cream. It isn’t a pie, after all. But, it is still a lovely little treat when served warm with the cold cream.
Ah, Beavie hasn’t been very sociable lately, but clearly is interested in what concoction we are whipping up today. Yup. Chef Suzie, my daugher, Ragan, is at the help for this one.
There is a lot of sugar in this recipe because apricots are really very tart, especially when baked.
Did I say it was easy?
I worked the butter into the flour with my Thermomix, but you do it the traditional way, by hand, if you don’t have one.
Added the buttermilk, which is not pictured, and makes a whole lotta difference: buttermilk is excellent in almost everything one bakes calling for milk. Dolloped the topping over the fruit and sprinkled sugar liberally over that.
Someone is excited! An hour later, and voilá! Halfway through, I had to cover lightly with foil, as the topping was already this brown, but I knew the biscuit would not be cooked thorough for another 30 minutes.
Best eaten warm, and hopefully you won’t have to wait. The aroma should draw everyone into the kitchen just before it is ready to come out of the oven. (Remember to take the ice cream out of the freezer so it is soft enough to scoop!)
Do you have a similar recipe? What is your favourite fresh apricot recipe? I would love you to share, especially if it is one from “way back” in the family. Somehow, those seem to be the best.
This is a huge dish of dessert, so either cut the recipe in half, or plan to serve it to a crowd. No one will be disappointed!
Fresh Apricot Cobbler
Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 1 1/2 lb fresh apricots , pitted(about 30 small apricots)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (juice from 1/2 a lemon)
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the Topping:
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar and 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1/4 c or 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter , cut into bits
- 1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
Instructions
For the Filling:
-
Toss all filling ingredients together in a casserole dish and let stand until juicy (about 30 minutes)
-
Preheat oven to 400°F
For the Topping:
-
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and 2 teaspoons sugar in a bowl
-
Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles slow cooking oatmeal flakes
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Stir in buttermilk with a fork until combined; do not over mix
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Drop rounded tablespoons of dough over filling, leaving spaces in between to allow topping to expand; sprinkle with remaining sugar
-
Bake cobbler in middle of oven until fruit is tender and topping is golden, about 60 minutes (watch the browning as it may have to be covered with foil at 30 minutes to prevent over-browning)
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Cool slightly, about 15 minutes, and serve warm with vanilla ice cream
I love apricots and can’t wait to see them at the market. Right now they sell them for a big price. I just buy a small bag when I go. I really like the dessert you made with the apricots. Yummy 🙂
The best price I could get was by the case, Helene, and it was 28 dollars for 35 pounds.
🙂
Valerie
Thta lovely topping is calling my name.
Look at the colour of those apricots. Love it! I bought apricots are market today and am wondering what to do with them. This is so tempting.
Charmian
Love eating them fresh and canning them in a simple syrup for the Winter. And, I must have jam. Just a little. Don’t eat it on toast, but bake with it and use it on crepes… or palacinka!
And… love to make an apricot pastry with homemade marzipan on puff pastry (not homemade 🙁 )
🙂
V
The ice cream was calling mine.
🙂
V
This looks so mouthwatering! And then I clicked onto your link about making apricot jam in Bosnia and it brought me back to my memories of my Oma’s summer kitchen where she did all her canning. It was a separate room from the house just like that. What a wonderful story and what memories it brings back. My husband, son and I spent a couple days in Bosnia on our eastern Europe holiday last summer and it was such a special time. How lucky you are to have your husband’s family to visit and belong-to there!
Margaret
I do feel so blessed. And, their home does now feel at home to me. I look so forward to our time with them. It is relaxing and I learn new things every visit. We go once a year. This year, in October. I want to make cheese with someone from there. So many farmers make a young farm cheese called Mladi Sir, and I hope to have that experience this year.
Is your family no longer in Europe?
🙂
V