A tree full of ripe fruit is a combination culinary blessing/emergency. On the one hand it’s a gift to have access to tree-ripened fruit. On the other hand, the fruit must be picked immediately, or risk it falling to the ground and turning to mush, food for critters.
But the emergency isn’t over after you’ve picked the fruit. In fact, this period is even more dire. Once picked, you must do something with the fruit – PRONTO! This is not grocery-store fruit that can languish prettily in a fruit bowl. This is sun-ripened ready NOW fruit. You can almost watch the fruit further ripen before your very eyes. One minute you have a box of beautiful, unblemished fruit, and by the next morning bruises are appearing and fruit flies have found their way in. Hurry! Do SOMETHING!
So it was last week when neighbor Tom and I picked peaches. Tom’s peaches were destined for peach jam. (Wise choice.) Mine would become cobblers, prepared and frozen for an upcoming catering gig.
I could have made a peach crisp, which features a more crunchy, granola-like mixture — traditionally made with oats, sugar, butter and sometimes nuts — but I wanted a more delicate top, and I also wanted to try an adaptation of a recipe I saw in Bon Appetit recently, a staff pick from Frog Hollow Farm Cafe in San Francisco: Stone Fruit Cobbler.
As the name implies, this recipe can work with any stone fruit, such as peaches, nectarines, plums or apricots. But I see no reason why it wouldn’t work just as well with apples, pears or berries. It’s fruit on the bottom, the cobbler mixture on top. Speaking of cobblers, if you’re confused between terms like cobbler, crisp, Betty or crumble, here’s a link to a quick explanation.
The original recipe says to not bother peeling the peaches, to just wipe off the fuzz with a damp paper towel, but I”m not a fan of cooked peach skins, so off they came. Peeling peaches is so simple. Boil a pot of water. Make a small “x” in the bottom of the peaches. Then gently lower the peaches into boiling water for about 30 seconds, and remove with a slotted spoon.
To easily remove the peach skins, make a small “x” at the bottom of each piece of fruit, then slip them into simmering water for about 30 seconds.
The fruit will be hot, so let the peaches rest and cool down. Then just use a sharp knife to gently start at the top of the peach and pull the skins away. They will slide away effortlessly and will leave behind gorgeous, slippery, perfect peaches.
Let the peaches rest a few minutes after their hot water bath, so they’re cool enough to handle.
The boiling water-bath method is a wonderful technique for removing the skins from all kinds of fruits, including tomatoes (yes, they’re fruit, too). Don’t leave the fruit in the water too long, though, or the fruit will start cooking.
Once the peaches are peeled and sliced, you’re in the home stretch, and there’s not much left to making the Peach Cobbler.
And after that, all that’s left is the eating.
… Unless there are more peaches to pick.
Peach Almond Cobbler
Peach Almond Cobbler
Filling 3 pounds peaches, peeled and sliced 1/2 granulated sugar 2 tablespoons flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier – or any kind of fruit liqueur or brandy Topping and assembly 1/2 cup flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1 stick butter, room temperature *3 1/2 ounces almond paste (make sure it’s soft … if not, warm in the microwave for a few seconds) 1/2 cups granulated sugar 3 large eggs, room temperature 1/2 cup sliced almonds For serving: Powdered sugar and either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream *About the almond paste. You can make your own, but if you buy it in those small rectangular boxes, they hold one foil-wrapped, crimped-ended tube of almond paste. Those tubes are 7 ounces, so rather than have to think of what to do with 3 1/2 ounces of leftover almond paste, or banish it to the freezer, never to be found again, I just doubled the recipe.Toss peaches, sugar, flour, salt and liqueur – if using – in a large bowl. Transfer to a 13-by-9-inch baking dish or two 9-inch pie plates. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Using an electric mixer, blend the almond paste, butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients and mix well until you’ve created a lovely batter.
Drop dollops of the batter over the fruit. (It will spread during baking.)
Sprinkle with the sliced almonds. Set the pan on a rimmed baking sheet (it will almost certainly bubble over). Bake for about 40 to 60 minutes, or until it’s golden brown and the cobbler’s juices are thick and bubbling.
Let the Almond Peach Cobbler set for about 20 minutes before serving, to give the juices a chance to thicken.
Sprinkle with a fine dusting of powdered sugar. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
About 10 servings.
Adapted from Bon Appetit’s recipe “Stone Fruit Cobbler” provided by the Frog Hollow Farm Cafe in San Francisco.
