Southern Peach Cobbler

Before you start

A Southern peach cobbler is generous and loose: soft, syrupy peaches under a golden topping that soaks up some of the juice. Cooks disagree about the topping. Some pour a sweet batter over melted butter and let the fruit sink into it; others drop biscuit dough over the fruit. This recipe uses the biscuit style as the main method and gives the batter method as a variation.

Ripe, fragrant peaches matter more than anything else. The fruit is lightly thickened with cornstarch and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, then heated in the oven before the biscuits go on. That head start means the topping bakes on bubbling fruit instead of a cold, wet layer, so the undersides cook through instead of turning gummy.

Ingredients

• Peach filling1.6 kg (about 8 large) ripe peaches — peeled, pitted and sliced 1.5 cm thick
• 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
• 50 g (¼ cup packed) light brown sugar
• 25 g (3 tbsp) cornstarch
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch fine salt
• 30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter — cut into small pieces
• Biscuit topping250 g (2 cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp (12 g) baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp fine salt
• 115 g (½ cup) unsalted butter — cold, cubed
• 240 ml (1 cup) cold buttermilk
• 2 tbsp turbinado sugar — for sprinkling

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F). To peel the peaches easily, drop them into boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds, then into ice water; the skins slip off.
2. Toss the sliced peaches with both sugars, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, spices and salt. Spread them in the baking dish and dot with the butter. Set the dish on a rimmed sheet and bake for 10 minutes while you make the topping.
3. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in the cold butter until the largest pieces are pea-size. Stir in the buttermilk with a fork just until a thick, shaggy dough forms; a few dry streaks are fine.
4. Take the hot fruit out of the oven and drop the dough over it in about 12 large spoonfuls, leaving small gaps so steam can escape. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
5. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the biscuits are deep golden and cooked through when you split one near the center, and the juices bubble thickly around the edges and in the middle.
6. Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or lightly whipped cream.

Tips for success

• The juices need to bubble in the center, not just at the edges. Cornstarch only thickens once it reaches a boil.
• Taste the peaches before adding sugar. Very sweet fruit needs less brown sugar; firm, tart peaches may need a little more.
• If the biscuits brown before the fruit bubbles in the middle, lay foil loosely over the dish and keep baking.

Substitutions

Fresh peaches

Use 1.4 kg frozen sliced peaches, thawed and drained, and add 1 extra tbsp cornstarch. Canned peaches in juice work if drained well; cut the sugar to 75 g.

Buttermilk

Stir 1 tbsp lemon juice into 240 ml whole milk and let it stand 5 minutes. The topping will be slightly less tender.

Cornstarch

Use 30 g quick-cooking tapioca, ground fine, for a clearer, slightly springier set.

Variations

Batter-style cobbler

Melt 115 g butter in the dish in the oven. Whisk 125 g flour, 200 g sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt and 240 ml milk, pour it over the butter without stirring, spoon the raw spiced peaches on top and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 45 to 50 minutes.

Peach and blackberry

Replace 300 g of the peaches with blackberries and add 1 extra tsp cornstarch.

Troubleshooting

The biscuits are gummy underneath

The fruit was cold when the topping went on or the dough was packed too tightly. Pre-bake the fruit and leave gaps between spoonfuls.

The filling is runny

It did not boil long enough or was served hot. Bake until the center bubbles and let it cool for 30 minutes.

The topping is dense and flat

The dough was overmixed or the baking powder is old. Stir only until combined and test your baking powder in hot water.

Storage

Cover and keep at room temperature for up to 1 day, or refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat portions in a 175°C (350°F) oven for 15 minutes to refresh the biscuits. Freezing softens the topping, so it is better eaten fresh.

Safety notes

Contains wheat and milk. Do not taste the raw biscuit dough, which contains raw flour.