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| Cobblers and Crisps | | By: Gwen Schoen |
|  Cobblers and Crisps
"Shoofly pie and apple pandowdy. Makes your eyes light up, your tummy say 'howdy."'--from a 1946 hit song
Food snobs, take a hike. We're hot, we're crabby and we're tired of designer food. We want something real and we want a lot of it. The kind of dessert Grandma would pull out of the oven and serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over the top. We want the ultimate comfort food, an old-fashioned cobbler or a pandowdy made with real butter, cream and lots of juicy, fresh fruit.
Maybe it's the weather. Or maybe it's just a longing to visit Grandma, but ever since hearing Dinah Shore's hit song Shoofly Pie and Apple Pandowdy on the oldies station, thoughts of simple, old-fashioned fruit desserts just won't go away.
"Fruit desserts are truly part of our American heritage," says Sharon Tyler Herbst, author of Food Lover's Companion. "Fruit cobblers go far back into the history of American cooking. Many are based on a sweet, baking-powder-biscuit type of dough that's cooked on top of or under a layer of fresh fruit. It's a very English type of cooking that stems from early Colonial times."
To our cosmopolitan ears, accustomed to hearing such words as "mocha frappe" and "gelato," a dessert called a "buckle" or a "grunt" sounds quite amusing. In truth, these old-fashioned, fruit-based desserts are our true American heritage.
"In Colonial times, settlers were very good at improvising," Herbst says. "When they arrived here, they looked around for ingredients to make their favorite dishes, and if they didn't find them, they used whatever was available. That's how we ended up with so many traditional American dishes with such unusual names."
According to Herbst, the names of the dishes often described how they looked or even how they sounded when they were served or cooked.
"Crumble is a good example," Herbst says. "Obviously that's what happened when it was cut open. Another example is the shoofly pie, which supposedly comes from the tradition of setting pies on the window ledge to cool. Flies would get after the pies, so the cook would fan them and say 'shoo, fly, shoo, fly.' Pandowdy probably got its name because it was kind of dowdy-looking and it was cooked in a pan."
To Grandma, these dishes will sound quite familiar, but young cooks may never have heard the likes of many of these:
Pandowdy is a deep-dish dessert that can be made with a variety of fruit, but is most commonly made with apples that are sweetened with molasses or brown sugar. The topping is a crumbly type of biscuit.
While shoofly pie doesn't contain fruit, it will forever be linked to apple pandowdy after the popular song. It is a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch dessert that is made with a filling of brown sugar, molasses and butter.
Slumps, brambles and grunts are all old-fashioned New England desserts, usually made with berries and topped with a type of sweet dumpling mixture. They are all simple variations of cobblers.
There are several regional variations of these same dishes. In the Boston area, slumps are made by dropping dumplings into simmering fruit, covering the pot and steaming the mixture on top of the range. In other parts of New England, brambles and grunts are baked with the dumplings on top so that they crisp up.
In some parts of New England, a grunt isn't a type of cobbler at all; it is a steamed pudding with berries.
Fool, which dates back to the 16th century, is a simple combination of fruit and cream or whipped cream, according to Herbst. Sometimes the fruit is stewed, then folded into the whipped cream.
Originally "fool" was a term of endearment, which might be how this dessert got its name. It has origins in England, where it was probably made with gooseberries. When it was made here, however, it was made with blueberries or blackberries.
Buckle or crumple is a type of cake that is made in a single layer, with berries added to the batter--usually blueberries. The batter is quite thick, and as it bakes, it forms a thin bottom layer. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.
Cobbler is a deep-dish fruit dessert that is topped with a biscuit crust. Depending on the region, it might also be called a bramble, grunt or slump. It can be made with almost any type of fruit, including peaches, nectarines, plums and blackberries.
Betty was a popular baked pudding made during Colonial times. It's made by layering spiced fruit with buttered bread crumbs. All sorts of fruit can be used, but apples are the most common. You might find it in recipe books listed as "Apple Brown Betty."
Shortcake is a classic American dessert made with a rich biscuit. It's split in two and topped with fruit and whipped cream. Strawberries are traditional, but peaches and apricots are also quite tasty.
Roly-poly is made by rolling fruit up in a type of pie pastry, wrapping it in cheesecloth and steaming it. Sailors made this dessert and often called it a duff.
Crisps and crumbles are different from cobblers in that they are made with a shortbread crust rather than a biscuit. The fruit is cooked on the bottom with the crust on top. As it bakes, the top becomes crisp and crumbly. The difference between the two is simply regional, according to Fresh Fruit Desserts: Classic and Contemporary by Sheryl and Mel London. "Crisps are the homey, American versions of the British crumbles," they write.
Crunch is similar to a crisp and a crumble, but in a crunch, there's a shortbread crust on the bottom as well as on the top.
Plum Cobbler
There are many variations of cobbler, but most are based on a sweet, biscuit-type dough that bakes on top of sweetened fruit. The best fruits to use are peaches, apricots and plums.
This recipe is from the California Tree Fruit Agreement.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup, plus 2 Tbs. packed brown sugar, divided
10 fresh plums, sliced (about 4 cups)
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preparation:
Combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, plums, cornstarch and cinnamon in a large bowl. Place fruit mixture in a two-quart casserole. Combine the remaining two tablespoons of brown sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
Cut in the margarine or butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and egg until just moistened. Drop batter on fruit or, if desired, spread the batter in stripes. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 35 minutes.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Blueberry Buckle
A buckle is an old-fashioned, single-layer cake with a streusel-type topping. This recipe is from Lee Bailey's Country Desserts.
Ingredients:
2 cups, plus 1 to 2 Tbs. sifted all-purpose flour, divided
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 pint blueberries
whipped cream flavored with rum
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.
Sift together 2 cups of flour, the baking powder and the salt. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy--about three minutes. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk.
Toss the berries with the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour (to separate and scatter evenly throughout the batter) and fold in. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Set aside.
Ingredients for the topping:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients with a fork to make a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle this over the batter, spreading it with your hand if you like. Bake for one hour, then test for doneness by inserting a cake tester. If it does not come out clean, give the cake another five to 10 minutes to bake.
When the cake has cooled, run a knife around the edges and lift the cake out of the pan. Serve it with whipped cream that is generously spiked with rum (on the removable bottom of the pan if you like).
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Yield: 6 servings
Apple Pandowdy
Ingredients:
Shoofly Pie and Apple Pandowdy was a hit song for Dinah Shore in 1946. This recipe for the old-fashioned dessert is from www.FabulousFoods.com
Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups apples, peeled and sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1-1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk
whipped cream or ice cream for topping
Preparation:
Combine flour, baking powder and salt, then set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a nine-inch-square baking dish. Place sliced apples in the dish and sprinkle with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the egg. Add the flour mixture, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture to make a stiff batter. Spread the batter evenly over apples and bake for about 50 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. You can serve it right out of the pan or invert it onto a serving plate like an upside-down cake, warm or at room temperature. Top with whipped cream or ice cream.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Fruit Fool with Cooked Fruit
This version of fool calls for cooked or stewed fruit folded into whipped cream. The recipe is from Joy of Cooking.
Ingredients:
1 cup whipping cream
powdered sugar (optional)
1 cup cooked fruit puree such as applesauce, rhubarb, berry, apricot or currant
1-1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind or 1/4 tsp. almond extract
macaroons
ladyfingers
Preparation:
Whip whipping cream until stiff and add powdered sugar to taste if desired. Fold in fruit puree and lemon rind or almond extract. Place the mixture in the bowl from which it is to be served. Sprinkle the top with crumbled macaroons. Chill thoroughly. Serve with ladyfingers.
Preparation time: 10 minutes (does not include the chill time)
Yield: 4 servings
Fruit Fools (with Fresh Fruit)
A fool is simply cream, sugar and fruit. Sometimes the cream is whipped, and sometimes it is just splashed over the fruit. This recipe is from Joy of Cooking.
Ingredients:
2 cups raspberries or strawberries with hulls and stems removed
powdered sugar
2 cups liquid whipping cream
3 Tbs. kirsch (a colorless brandy made from the fermented juice of cherries), port or Madeira wine
Preparation:
Wash the berries and drain well. Sprinkle with powdered sugar to taste. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes. Combine berries with whipping cream. Flavor with kirsch, port or Madeira wine. Chill well before serving.
Prep time: 15 minutes (includes the 10-minute standing time)
Yield: 4 servings
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RESOURCES:
California Tree Fruit Agreement
California Tree Fruit Agreement
PO Box 968 (mailing address)
975 "I" St. (street address)
Reedley, CA 93654-0968
Phone: 559-638-8260
Fax: 559-638-8842
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.caltreefruit.com
Fabulous Foods
This is a website featuring recipes and food-related information.
Enigma Communications
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.FabulousFoods.com
Lee Bailey's Country Desserts
by Lee Bailey
Clarkson N. Potter, August 1998
Order this title from Amazon.com.
OUT OF PRINT--Fresh Fruit Desserts: Classic and Contemporary
by Sheryl and Mel London
Order this title from Amazon.com.
The New Food Lover's Companion
by Sharon Tyler Herbst
Barrons Educational Series, March 2001
Order this title from Amazon.com.
The full title is The New Food Lover's Companion: Comprehensive Definitions of Nearly 6000 Food, Drink, and Culinary Terms (Barron's Cooking Guide)
The New Joy of Cooking
by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker
Scribner, November 1997
Order this title from Amazon.com.
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