Recipe & Image: KATHY PATERSON
Cobbler may be the best reason to turn on the oven. Its crisp yet short-textured topping is a family favourite.
Ice cream essential!
Serves 6
Pears
5–6 ripe pears
juice of 1 small lemon
1 tbsp caster sugar
Cobbler topping
1¼ cups plain flour
1½ tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
¼ cup caster sugar
35g cold butter, diced
½ cup flaked or slivered almonds
200ml cream
raw sugar for sprinkling
icing sugar for dusting, optional
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Quarter and core the pears then slice quarters in half. Toss in the lemon juice and sugar and place in a 6-cup-capacity ovenproof dish.
Place the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a food processor and process for 10 seconds to sift. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the almonds then pour in the cream through the feed tube, only processing until the mixture begins to come together.
Dollop the cobbler topping over the pears then sprinkle with raw sugar. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 150°C and continue to bake until the cobbler topping is golden brown and cooked through (35–45 minutes).
Remove from the oven and allow to sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
To serve – dust the pear cobbler with icing sugar (optional) and serve with ice cream. Salted caramel ice cream would be my pick.
Kathy Paterson is a recipe developer, food stylist and photographer. A plentiful herb garden and a trial and error vegetable garden give Kathy the starting place for her recipes along with her love for the classics with a modern twist.
