Spiced Blackberry And Cornmeal Cobbler
Blackberry Mixture:
- 3 pints blackberries
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1½ tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon dark rum or bourbon
- 1½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ cup unsifted all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsifted masa harina, preferably white
- ½ cup unsifted stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup unsifted confectioners’ (10 X) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions:
Garden blackberries can of course be substituted for the wild as can dewberries, blueberries, or raspberries.
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. Butter a shallow 3-quart baking dish (it should be no more than 2 inches deep) and set aside.
- For the blackberry mixture: Mix all ingredients in a large nonreactive bowl; set aside.
- For the topping: Sift the flour, masa harina, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, and salt into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a large electric mixer bowl at moderate speed for 1 to 2 minutes or until fluffy; beat in the egg. With the mixer at low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour and beating after each addition only enough to combine.
- Scoop the batter (it will be quite thick) into a pastry bag fitted with a ½-inch plain tip and pipe over the berries in a lattice pattern, spacing the rows 1½ inches apart.
- Slide the cobbler onto the middle oven shelf and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.
- Serve hot, or, if you prefer, cool the cobbler to room temperature before serving.