Sunday, April 29, 2012

In the kitchen: Gautreau's Berry Cobbler

As I blogged on Friday, this weekend kicked off an unseasonably early pick-your-own strawberry season here in St. Louis. We popped the kids into the car and headed to our favorite local farm...

As we hit the fields early in the season this year,  picking was easy and the berries were gorgeous.  We left with 2 huge boxes full of strawberries and spent all of $12.00.  Can't beat it!

The Berry Cobbler recipe from Gautreau's in New Orleans (a teeny peek at our most recent trip HERE) has been hanging on my fridge and staring me in the face for months.  A lot of cobbler recipes are full of sugar and butter so I tend to avoid making them.  This one is actually on the tart side and relatively clean.  Figured I would give it a shot as we have major berry surplus.

Gautreau's Berry Cobbler

2 pints of strawberries- hulled and quartered
1 pint of blueberries (I substituted with strawberries last night, as hello... had like 10 pints on hand)
1 cup sugar, divided
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 tbsp softened butter

Preheat oven at 375.  Mix berries with 1/3 cup + 2 tsps of sugar and the cornstarch. Let sit for 10 minutes...
In a separate bowl combine flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, baking powder, and salt until blended. In a separate bowl, combine egg, milk, vanilla, and butter. Add dry ingredients to wet and stir well.

Divide berries as desired into prepared pans.  You can use several ramekins if preparing for a dinner party or one large dish.  I opted for 3, as I made one for us and 2 for 2 of our neighbors who regularly extend us kindness...

Top each with a few dollops of the batter.  This is fool proof.  No need to completely cover or make pretty...
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the tops are golden brown...

While warm, sprinkle with a teeny bit of sugar.  Good luck keeping your family out of the kitchen, as the smell is ridiculous...
Let cool 5 minutes before serving warm.  At least with all strawberries, this cobbler is definitely on the tart side... so it is the ideal pair for a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top.