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.