Big City, Little Kitchen

At the peak of summer, when the green markets and grocery stores are full of stone fruits, I love to make desserts with plums.  This recipe is based on a berry cobbler I found in August’s Martha Stewart Living, and is really easy.  The original recipe calls for berries, rather than plums, but it could serve as a template for any sort of fruit cobbler.  I also added lemon zest and juice, for a little extra brightness.

Plum Cobbler

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 oz (1 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 3/4 cup cold heavy cream, plus more for brushing (I substituted Greek yogurt, thinned with a bit of water, to lighten these up*)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup each granulated and raw sugar, plus more for sprinkling
• 3 tb cornstarch
• Juice and zest of half of a lemon
• 9 plums

Wash plums and slice into wedges (6 to 8 wedges per plum); put into a large bowl.  Whisk together the cinnamon, sugars, cornstarch, and lemon zest, and pour over plums; toss to coat, squeeze lemon juice over, and toss again.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add butter pieces and cut in with a pastry cutter until the mixture is sandy, with a few larger, pea-sized pieces.  Stream in the heavy cream or thinned yogurt and stir together the mixture with a wooden spoon until it comes together in a ball, adding a bit more liquid if necessary.  Divide dough into 9 pieces and form each into a ball, flattening slightly.

Pour fruit mixture, and any accumulated juice, into an 8×8 baking dish, and top with the dough balls, spacing them out evenly.  Brush dough balls with extra heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until the biscuit topping is nicely browned.  Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving.

*I should mention that the people at Stonyfield Farms were kind enough to send me a few coupons for their Greek-style yogurt, Oikos.