Plum Cobbler for July 4th

Fruit cobblers are as American as it gets. History says that it was concocted by early settlers in the USA when they couldn't get their hands on the usual ingredients for their suet puddings. And since July 4th is just around the corner .... heck, why not. I'm not pro to any country, my country's flag is also red white and blue, with 2 splashes of yellow. So where's the yellow? Umm.. how about the lemon rind in the topping?

And since I've decided to make this into individual servings, I've sort of un-cobbled the cobbler and turned into a spiral instead ... did you know it's called a "cobbler" because the original blobs of biscuits on a large dish is suppose to resemble the cobblestones on the streets?

In any case, this was delicious. We also had some lovely vanilla ice cream to go with it. That, will have to be another post.

INGREDIENTS

FILLING:

5 plums, washed, pitted and sliced

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 tbs cornstarch (you can reduce this to 1/2 tbs, I like my filling gooey)

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

TOPPING: (*Note: this makes enough dough for 2 quantities of the filling)

1 cup flour

1 1/2 tbs sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tbs baking powder

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

2 oz cold butter, diced

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup cream

1/2 - 1 tsp grated lemon peel

DUSTING:

1/2 tbs sugar

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

BRUSHING:

1 tbs cream

METHOD

FILLING:

Toss together all filling ingredients. Place in a deep dish and bake in a 180˚C oven for 30 mins.

TOPPING:

Mix together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, grated lemon peel and ground cinnamon.

Place flour mixture in to a food processor together with the diced butter.

Give a few buzzes until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and 1/4 cup cream.

Pour egg / cream mixture slowly through the food processor funnel and buzz a couple of times until just combined. Refrigerate until the filling is ready.

Remove filling from the oven, give it a stir and place balls of dough over the top, or in my case, I spooned the filling into individual ramekins, rolled the dough into thick ropes and coiled them around the top.

Brush with cream. Sprinkle with mixture of 1/2 tbs sugar and 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon.

Bake in oven for about 20 - 25 mins until golden browned.

Serve as is or with vanilla ice cream.

*Note: Since it's too bothersome to halve an egg yolk, feel free to double the recipe for the filling. Otherwise, refrigerate half the portion of dough until your next usage (not too long tho). Thaw well before using.