This fruit cobbler is certainly one of the simplest coffee cakes to make. The cobbler is low in sugar, baking up into an appealing fruit-laden cake that is as flavorful as it is tender. Based on traditional German everyday coffee-time cake recipes known as kuchens, the simple cakes are leavened with backpulver, the baking powder used in German, Swiss, and Austrian baking.
My favorite fruits for this recipe include pitted, fleshy, sweet Tartarian cherries from my local farmer’s market. Peeled and pitted ripe summer peaches in combination with Santa Rosa plums, apricots, or nectarines; field-grown red rhubarb; delicate winter pears; even sliced bananas or big Watsonville raspberries are also nice. For the adult palate, try substituting 2 tablespoons of the milk with a complementary fruit brandy.
The cake batter can be made in two 6-inch springform pans or doubles perfectly to be baked in a 12-inch round/oval or 9-by-13-inch rectangle. The cobbler can be frozen for up to 2 weeks and reheated, although it is best served the day it is made, either warm or at room temperature, accompanied by a pitcher of cold heavy cream.
Yield: One 8-inch cake, or two 6-inch cakes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- About 3 cups pitted and halved or sliced fresh fruit, such as plums, peaches, cherries, pears, or nectarines
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
Cinnamon Topping
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease and flour an 8-inch springform pan, two 6-inch springforms, or an 8-inch square pan and set aside. In a bowl with a wooden spoon, or in the workbowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat well.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a measuring cup, combine the milk and vanilla extract. Beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture in two additions, alternating with the milk. Beat until smooth and fluffy.
3. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Cover with all of the fruit to create a thick layer, and drizzle with the lemon juice. To make the cinnamon topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over the fruit.
4. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the fruit is bubbly and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes for the 8-inch pans or 25 to 30 minutes for the 6-inch pans. Serve warm or at room temperature, straight from the pan.
Excerpted from The Best Quick Breads, by Beth Hensperger. (c) 2002, used by permission from the Harvard Common Press.
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