August 08, 2011

Gooseberry (or any berry!) Cobbler

Gooseberry cobbler is very special to me. My mom used to make it every summer. It was her signature summer dessert. She wouldn’t put very much sugar so the berries were always bright and tart, and the dumpling dough’s sweet softness soothed the zinging tastebuds. A great marriage of opposites.

On one of my visits home, a few months after my mom died, I opened the freezer door and found a container of gooseberries from our garden. A note was scribbled on top: “To make cobbler when Aube comes home”.



I still have an ache in my heart when I think of my mom putting those berries aside and writing that note. She didn’t get to make that cobbler, so I dug out her recipe, and made it myself. Now I think of her whenever I make it. In this photo you can see her cooking and singing in her kitchen.

In the great cobbler versus crumble versus crisp debate, it’s a very close call, but I am of the opinion that cobbler takes the cake (excuse the pun). Except that this Apricot Berry Crumble and this Cherry, Blackberry, and Almond Crisp could have the power to sway me to the other side.  

You can make cobbler with pretty much any berries. I was just in Norfolk County this weekend where the cherries and blueberries are at their prime. Peaches also make superb cobbler! And for the gluten-intolerants out there, this recipe works beautifully with a gluten-free flour mix. My mom used to sometimes make a gluten-free version not because anyone was gluten-intolerant but just because she liked the texture.





Gooseberry Cobbler from Kitchen Vignettes on Vimeo.


GOOSEBERRY COBBLER

Berries: 
4 cups of berries or chopped fruit
1 cup sugar (more or less depending on berries)

Dough: 
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk


Mix all dry ingredients. Cut in butter. Add milk, and mix gently together to form soft dough. Don't overmix. Mix berries and sugar in a pan, and drop dough by spoonful on berries. Bake around 30 min in a 350F oven. And voila!

Some notes on the recipe: I ended up being short on gooseberries so I used red and black currants as well. If using juicy berries like those, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of cornstarch or tapioca flour to the berries so that the juices aren’t too runny. Also, 1 cup of sugar may be too much for sweeter berries like bluberries or strawberries so adjust sugar depending on your berries of choice. 




24 comments:

  1. Girl, I like your style.

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  2. i felt sad when i read about the note! It must be so lovely to have a mother who loved you and made things for you...

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  3. I love it! I wonder if there are gooseberries in Ottawa? Yum!

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  4. Aube as always you inspire me! what a lovely story, and the cobbler looks spectacular. I'm in Newfoundland eating partridge berries by the bucket, might have to make this here! thanks :)

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  5. The story brought tears to my eyes. Wonderful video too Aube

    xox
    Pam

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  6. So lovely.. Thank you!

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  7. The words and story are touching, because I know you so well. The video stunning (because you weave film like your mother knit wool). Je t'adore Tete.

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  8. very nicely done!! thanks for sharing your many talents!!

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  9. A nouveau, c'est tout toi - brillant, délicat et tellement poétique - Continue!

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  10. Your work is breathtaking and so enviable! What a beautiful way to contribute to the food blogging world! I very much look forward to following your blog from now on... Aimee.

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  11. Oh mon doux, que d'émotions, que de beauté... Un délicat et subtil petit "caméo". On aurait le goût de te serrer dans nos bras et en même temps de courir à nos fourneaux pour goûter au plus vite ce petit chef d'oeuvre estival.

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  12. Yay, you did it! Beautiful blog Aubey. You're wonderful. xoxo

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  13. Aube ~ you've done it again! I miss Jali a lot and seeing her creations....so it's nice to be reminded of her through your stories and of course to truly understand the creative family you are blessed to be a part of! The music to this video is oh so fitting. You make me smile! :)

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  14. ohhh,
    simple-beautiful, elegant, just like the berries....the music was touching, sweet....tears in my eyes....and the photo of jali....so perfect..her hands so relaxed in familiar activity..
    xo char

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  15. I love the music in the video and the sentiment behind this post is just beautiful! Like you, I have a preference for cobblers over crisps, and yours turned out just lovely here. The mixed berries gave off a wonderful hue to the cobbler!

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  16. Thanks so much for your comments everyone! Jess, partridgeberries sound delicious! (I had them in pie once and it was lovely).
    It's so nice to hear from everone who knew Jali... I think I will be sharing many more of her recipes and telling her stories on this blog because it's kind of impossible to talk about food and not to talk about her as well, since she loved eating and cooking so much and so many of the special moments we shared had to do with food! Chantal, moi aussi je te serre dans mes bras. Merci tout le monde xoxo

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  17. Hi, I saw your video on vimeo and it's good!! Keep it up.

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  18. Aube this is such a beautiful post! :)

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  19. Thank you ... my mom was a wonderful baker as well. I will think of you as I make this dish today! I have lots of red currants and was told they may not be a good fruit for this kind of thing because of the seeds so you give me hope. I will let you know how it works out. Warm wishes and blessings coming to you from beautiful Bella Coola, B.C. Canada ( http://cynthiabreadner.blogspot.ca/ )

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  20. thank for this recipe, this recipe is easy and delicious...

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  21. Thank you Aube and Jali for the inspiration. I have a bush that was given to me that I thought was blackcurrant, but the berries (not ripe yet) look awfully big so maybe ....

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  22. So pleased to find this! I have so missed the cake mix/soda/berries cobbler... and this one sounds similar! So excited.

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