Tuesdays With Dorie 2: Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler

Well I don't know about you, but when I heard that this week's Tuesdays With Dorie challenge was a cobbler, my initial reaction was "and that is..."? I've never really heard of a cobbler before (I don't think it's very common in Australia). My next thoughts were "Cherry and Rhubarb"? Rhubarb and me don't really get along- I don't really appreciate its flavour and in return it leaves me with a horrible squeaking feeling in my mouth afterwards. Cooked properly though, I have come to enjoy it... slightly.

So it came as a big surprise to me that I actually loved this dessert! I cut the rhubarb smaller than Dorie recommended which resulted in it dissolving, creating a subtle flavour. In my cobbler, the cherry's were definitely the main attraction. This is what I love about Tuesdays With Dorie; I'm cooking things I would never usually choose to cook myself, and it's been a revelation for me! Thanks to Amanda from Like Sprinkles on a Cupcake for choosing this weeks recipe.

I didn't peel the rhubarb and it turned out fine- not stringy at all. I also didn't have any ground ginger on hand, so I used a little bit of ground cinnamon instead. Oh and I also used dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar.

Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler (makes 8 servings)

For the filling

1 pound sweet red cherries, pitted and halved
12 ounces (about 4 long fat stalks) rhubarb, trimmed, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground ginger

For the topping

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into about 18 pieces
1/2 cup whole milk

Getting ready...

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 inch square baking pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

To make the filling...

Mix the cherries and rhubarb together in a medium bowl and stir in the sugar, cornstarch and ginger. Stir the fruit from time to time while you make the topping.

To make the topping...

Put both flours, the brown sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger in the food processor. Pulse a couple of times just to blend. Scatter the pieces of butter over the dry ingredients and, using 1 to 2 second long pulses, mix in the butter until the dough looks like very coarse meal with a bunch of pea size pieces tossed in. Continuing to pulse the machine, add the milk, then pulse until the dough forms moist clumps and curds. Try not to process the dough so long that it firms a ball on the blade. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface.

Cut the dough into 20 pieces and gently shape each piece into a ball. Don't worry about making the pieces perfectly round- the important thing is to not handle the dough too much or too roughly.

Pour the fruit and its syrupy liquid into the buttered pan and top it with the biscuit puffs, making 4 rows of 5 puffs each. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and the fruit is bubbling away. Remove the pan from the oven and cool the cobbler on a rack for at least 20 minutes.

Serving...

The cobbler can be served as soon as it is not mouth-searingly hot, or you can wait until it reaches room temperature. You can even serve it chilled, but the texture of the topping isn't as nice when it's cold. It almost goes without saying that the cobbler is great with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Cherry vanilla would be even better.

Storing...

This is best eaten the day it is made- in fact, soon after it is made.