Cranberry and Apple Cobbler

I have replaced the usual crumble topping with a cranberry scone, which is a great way to soak up all the natural juices. Dollop a generous spoonful of cobbler onto a pudding plate and serve with a good amount of lightly whipped pouring cream flavoured with vanilla extract and a little icing sugar.

Pie by Dean Brettschneider.
Published by Penguin Group NZ.
© Dean Brettschneider, 2012.

Photography © Aaron McLean, 2012

(Makes a 25cm cobbler, serving 6–8 people)

Ingredients

Fruit Filling

• 1kg cooking apples, such as Granny Smith or Bramley
• 350g frozen cranberries or mixed summer berries
• zest and juice of 2 oranges
• ¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 3 whole star anise

Scone Topping

• 220g self-raising flour
• good pinch of salt
• 55g caster sugar
• 55g butter, chilled
• 100g dried cranberries, roughly chopped
• 165ml milk
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water, for egg wash

Method

Peel, core and thickly slice the apples. Place in a large saucepan with the cranberries, orange zest and juice, Chinese five spice and star anise over a medium heat and very gently poach for approximately 15 minutes until tender. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Discard the star anise before using. This filling can be made a day in advance and kept in the refrigerator overnight.

To make the scone topping, place the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the dried cranberries and toss through, then add the milk and mix with a wooden spoon or blunt knife to achieve a soft, sticky dough.

Tip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to 2cm thick. Using a 5cm-round cookie cutter, cut out circles of dough and set aside.

Spoon the Fruit Filling into a 25cm shallow round, ovenproof baking dish and arrange the scone circles on top around the edge of the dish, slightly overlapping each other but leaving an open circular gap in the middle. Brush the circles with egg wash.

Bake in a preheated 220°C oven for 20–25 minutes or until the scone circles are golden-brown in colour.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes on a cooling rack before serving.

Wine Match

Rose
Julicher 2011