Blueberry Cornbread Cobbler Recipe

There’s nothing easier than a contemporary blueberry cobbler: Only a pinch of starch and sugar to bind and sweeten the most effective summer time fruit—or frozen works simply as properly yr spherical—all bubbly and thick beneath a golden cobbler crust, completed with possibly a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, for those who’re fortunate. It is one of many best desserts round and an effective way to showcase contemporary summer time fruit, however there might be pitfalls alongside the best way to be careful for. Too usually, blueberry cobbler recipes have a filling that’s too candy, overspiced, or unappealingly thick, and a topping that’s dried out and lacks taste.

Fortunate for us, our take a look at kitchen colleague and seasoned recipe developer Anna Theoktisto resolved these points together with her blueberry cornbread cobbler recipe right here. Via rounds of testing, she produced the right not-too-thin, not-too-thick filling, the place the blueberry taste is entrance and heart. And as a substitute of the fundamental all-purpose flour biscuit topping (the favored go-to for many cobbler recipes), she developed a candy cornbread topping that pairs completely with the tart and floral blueberry filling. Learn on for recommendations on making the most effective berry cobbler and for Theoktisto’s full recipe.

4 Ideas for an Straightforward Blueberry Cornbread Cobbler

1. Spotlight the blueberry taste with only a trace of cinnamon and lemon. As famous above, we wished the blueberry taste to be entrance and heart on this cobbler, however we additionally wished it to be properly rounded. To make sure this, only a modest 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon is added to spotlight the blueberry’s delicate floral taste, whereas the mixture of lemon zest and lemon juice brightens the filling and makes the contemporary blueberry taste pop.

2. Thicken the filling with cornstarch, however not an excessive amount of. Check out most fruit cobbler filling recipes, and also you’ll see that they sometimes use some sort of thickener, whether or not its all-purpose flour, cornstarch, potato starch, or tapioca starch. It is because most fruits utilized in cobblers (right here blueberries, but in addition true for different berries, stone fruit, and even apples) maintain water that’s launched in the course of the cooking course of. With out a thickener, you’d find yourself with cooked blueberry soup, and never the jammy viscous filling an excellent cobbler ought to have. However the quantity of thickener and sort added is what ensures the filling is completely set, and never soupy or gloppy.

Cornstarch tossed with the blueberries earlier than baking was not solely a simple option to incorporate a thickener, however when baked till bubbly, the cornstarch prompts and is a foolproof option to thicken the blueberry filling. Simply comply with the recipe, and restrict the quantity of cornstarch to 2 tablespoons for a wonderfully jammy filling. When the filling was examined with extra, it become a thick sludge. 

3. Skip the normal biscuit dough, and prime your cobbler with cornbread. Relying on the place you reside or grew up, “cobbler” can be utilized to explain a wide range of baked fruit desserts. It is a fairly large class of dishes, and, for those who’re , you need to learn Severe Eats’ guide to baked fruit desserts that offers an outline of the historical past of the cobbler, its many regional variations, and the widespread dough toppings used. For many of us right here in the USA, “cobbler” refers to a casserole of baked, syrupy fruit with a pastry or dough topping of some type. 

There are two fundamental varieties of cobblers which are commonest: the primary has a fruit layer on the underside and a topping manufactured from sweetened biscuits; the opposite has a cake-like batter that begins out beneath the fruit, however rises to the highest because it bakes. On this recipe, Theoktisto combines these two kinds and makes a cornbread that has a young and moist cake-like texture, a candy, lemony taste, and a pleasantly gritty texture from the cornmeal to counter the jammy filling. As a substitute of layering the cornbread cake beneath the fruit, she dollops it over the blueberry layer much like how you’ll prime a cobbler with a biscuit dough. Spooning the batter over the fruit filling, with out smoothing the highest, provides a pleasant texture and visible attraction to the highest of the cobbler.

4. Save a number of the blueberries for topping the cobbler. Theoktisto discovered that whereas the cornbread topping was the right texture and taste pairing for the filling, it additionally fully lined the jewel-toned blueberry filling. The cobbler appeared a bit boring, and didn’t showcase its unimaginable contemporary flavors. She solved this downside by setting apart a half cup of the contemporary blueberries and utilizing them as a topping for the cobbler. After the cobbler is partially baked for 10 minutes, stud the reserved contemporary blueberries into the just-set cornbread topping earlier than returning it to the oven to complete baking. The result’s a blueberry cobbler that’s simply as attractive as it’s scrumptious. We suggest serving it heat with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of frivolously sweetened whipped cream.