Peach Cobbler

 Last week our neighbour Edouard knocked on the door and presented me with a basket of vine peaches (Fr. pêches des vignes). He had decided to strip the tree as storms were predicted. He's allergic to fresh peaches, and there's only so much jam his wife can make, so he thought of me. He also told me he's had a number of thefts from his potager. The usual stuff like tomatoes, but this year someone stripped half his quince tree! We both thought that was quite odd. 

 

Anyway, I was very grateful for these lovely peaches, which were all perfectly ripe and delicious. I had baked some biscuits only an hour before so I was very pleased to be able to exchange the peaches for some biscuits. I immediately blanched a couple of kilos of peaches and sliced them to make a cobbler, and the rest I halved and poached in heavy vanilla syrup. The latter will get used for Peach Melba or served with Greek yoghurt/fromage frais battu and such like.

 

Ingredients

1.5 kg peaches (vine peaches are small so this is about 16 peaches)

¼ cup soft brown sugar

Juice of a lemon

1 tbsp cornstarch

¼ tsp ground cinnamon + a pinch for sprinkling on top

Pinch of nutmeg

1.5 cups plain flour

1/3 cup sugar + 1 tbsp for sprinkling on top

1.5 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

85 g butter, cold and cut into centimetre cubes

¼ cup milk

Method

1. Turn on the oven to 180°C and butter a lasagna dish.
2. Pour boiling water over the peaches and leave them sitting in it for 2 minutes, then slip their skins off, stone them and slice them into a large bowl.
3. Toss the peaches with the brown sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. 
4. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the bottom of the lasagna dish.
5. For the topping, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
6. Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers.
7. Add the milk and mix until a soft dough is formed.
8. Tear off walnut sized pieces and flatten them a bit before lay them on top of the peaches. Distribute the dough evenly, but leave gaps.
9. Brush the dough with milk and sprinkle with the extra sugar and cinnamon.
10. Bake for 50 minutes.
11. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes.
12. Serves 8, with vanilla ice cream.

Best served on the day of baking. It will hold in the fridge overnight before baking, so you can prepare it well in advance. After baking it will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but beyond that the topping goes unpleasantly soggy. An uncovered reheat in the oven can help.