Mixed Berry Cobbler

Cobblers have to be one of my favorite desserts to bake, and there is nothing better than an easy berry cobbler for this time of year when we are right in the middle of berry season.
What I love about cobblers is there is no faffing about with crusts, no rolling, etc. You just pour some sweetened berries and pop them into a casserole dish, top with the cobbler topping and bake away. They really make for a simple and delicious dessert option.
Mixed Berry Cobbler

There is also quite a variance in how you choose to top them. Some people choose to top them with biscuits, some with store bought canned biscuits. There is really no right or wrong when it comes to cobbler.
Today I am topping mine with a lovely buttermilk cake-like batter, which is incredibly moreish and very easy to make. Again, no faffing about with rolling or cutting. Just beat everything together and dollop it on top!
Mixed Berry Cobbler

With this version as well, its up to you what berries you decide to use. I happened to have a mixture of berries in my refrigerator so I used blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and the last of my strawberries.
But you can use just one kind if that is all that you have, or any combination that you have available to use. I haven't used frozen berries, but I can't see why they wouldn't work as well. I think I would thaw them first however.
This recipe I am sharing today has been adapted and down sized from a recipe which I found in the cookery book, Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America.

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MIXED BERRY COBBLER
Simple ingredients. Nothing out of the ordinary here. The original recipe made 12 servings. I have switched it out to serve only 6. (Maybe less if they are really big eaters.)

3/4 cup (105g) plain all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBS (1/4 cup/600g) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100g) sugar divided
1 small free range egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (60ml) buttermilk
1 1/2 pints (3 cups) mix of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries

If you don't have small free range eggs, then you can use one half of a large egg which has been beaten together with a fork. This should equal 2 TBS of beaten egg that you will need.
Cream of tartar helps to stabilize whipped egg whites when making meringues, prevents sugar from crystallizing and acts as a leavening agent in baked goods.
Because this recipe uses both baking soda and cream of tartar you can substitute 3/4 of a teaspoon of baking powder in its place if you don't have any.
Mixed Berry Cobbler

If you find that you don't have any buttermilk, there are several ways you can replace it. First you can take 1/2 TBS of lemon juice or white vinegar and add milk to the total measurement needed, leaving it sit for 5 minutes to clabber.
Second you can just mix equal parts of whole milk and whole milk plain yogurt to equal the amount of buttermilk needed. (so 1/8 cup/30ml of each whole milk and whole milk yogurt, equaling 1/4 cup/60ml)

HOW TO MAKE MIXED BERRY COBBLER
This is really such a simple dessert. It does involve using your oven, but only for half an hour or so. Some things are just worth it.

Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 7 by 11 inch baking dish really well. Set aside.Sift the flour, soda, cream of tartar and salt into a bowl. Set aside.In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle, cream together the butter and 1/3 cup (63g) of the sugar on low speed until light in texture. Beat in the egg until smooth. (Alternately you can use an electric hand mixer.)

Add the flour, alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix the berries with the remaining sugar and scatter them in the baking dish. Spoon the cake batter over the top in dollops.Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes until the filling is bubbling and a toothpick inserted into the cake batter comes out clean.Let stand for 10 minutes and then serve warm, spooned into bowls with scoops of vanilla ice cream or pouring cream if desired.

If you would prefer you can make a biscuit topping. This one is a simple version. You will need:

3/4 cup (105g) plain all purpose flour
3 TBS sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
3 TBS butter, cold and cubed
1/4 cup (60ml) cold buttermilk
buttermilk and coarse sugar to glaze

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Drop in the butter and cut it in with a pastry blender, or two round bladed knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk until evenly combined.
Take out spoonful's of the dough and gently flatten and stretch it with your hands. Place haphazardly on top of the fruit. Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar.
Proceed to bake as per the recipe, until the fruit is bubbling and the biscuit topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This is really good served warm, spooned into bowls, topped with vanilla ice cream or pouring cream. I have never had a person turn down a bowl of this yet!
Some other great cobbler recipes on the blog are:
BUMBLEBERRY COBBLER - Containing random bits of all of the berries we have available at the moment, the only real requirement being that there be at least three different types of berries. Lightly flavored with lemon sugar and topped with a crumbly buttery, vanilla infused scone topping and baked until the berries are all bubbling up and sweet, the scone topping is browned and crisp, and the whole thing together is one delicious mass of tasty cobbler goodness.SKILLET CHERRY COBBLER - This really is a very simple recipe, which enables you to get on with doing other things. Its as simple as popping your filling into an oven-proof skillet and topping it with an easy buttermilk biscuit topping.