Plum and Cardamom Cobbler

Cobbler is one of my favourite simple, every-day desserts. I was inspired to add the cardamom by a Swedish recipe for poached plums, and they work very well in this as an early autumn dish. You may need to adapt the amount of sugar for the fruit depending on how sweet and ripe your plums are, so make sure you taste the fruit before cooking. I like using coconut palm sugar for the flavour, but it is more expensive – soft brown sugar will work just as well, so adapt to your preference.

INGREDIENTS

  • FOR THE FRUIT
  • 800g ripe, sweet plums
  • 100g coconut palm sugar or soft brown sugar
  • 8-10 cardamom pods, crushed into powder (husks removed)
  • ¼ tsp powdered Madagascan vanilla (the one I use is very intense)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • FOR THE COBBLER
  • 120g plain flour
  • 40g maize grits or polenta
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 medium egg, plus 1 medium egg yolk
  • 50g coconut palm sugar or soft brown sugar
  • 85ml milk
  • 75g butter, melted

METHOD

Preheat your oven to 180°C / gas 4. Wash your plums, and slice them into halves and quarters, removing the stones. Place them in an 800ml pie dish, and gently stir in the sugar, cardamom, vanilla and lemon juice. Dot the butter evenly throughout.

To make the topping, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, and stir in the maize grits, salt, and baking powder.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg, egg yolk and sugar together with an electric hand whisk or whisk. Add the milk and butter gradually, beating all the time. Combine with the flour mixture, and whisk until the batter is smooth. Pour it evenly over the top of your fruit, and bake for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown, and cooked through.

Serve warm with custard or vanilla ice cream.