This Peach Cobbler recipe comes from a Southern lady known for her big personality, laugh, heart, and appetite for life and food. The syrup is made using peach juices, maximizing peach flavor.
Ingredients for Peach Cobbler Filling:
- Peaches: Ripe and juicy peaches are essential. The recipe works with other stone fruits like nectarines and plums, and canned peaches can be used with some adjustments.
- Sugar: Tossed with peach slices to extract their juices, which are used to make the syrup.
- Cornflour/Cornstarch: Thickens the peach juices into a syrup.
- Lemon: Adds a touch of tang to balance sweetness.
- Salt: Enhances the flavors.
Ingredients for Peach Cobbler Topping:
- Flour: Use plain or self-raising flour (skip baking powder and soda if using the latter).
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Creates a lighter topping.
- Butter: Cold cubes of unsalted butter are rubbed into the flour.
- Yogurt: Adds moisture without thinning the batter.
- Sugar: Provides sweetness, relying mainly on the peaches’ natural sweetness.
- Demerara Sugar: Sprinkled on top for a crunchy texture.
- Cinnamon: Adds a divine hint of flavor.
Making Peach Cobbler:
- Peel and slice peaches: Cut each peach into 8 wedges.
- Macerate: Toss peaches with sugar and let them sit for 40 minutes to release their juices.
- Drain: Collect the peach juices, reserving 1/4 cup for the syrup.
- Syrup: Mix the reserved juice with cornflour and lemon juice, then toss with the peaches.
- Parbake: Bake peaches for 12 minutes in a glass or ceramic baking dish.
Topping and Assembling:
- Prepare topping: Rub butter into a mixture of flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Fold in yogurt gently.
- Assemble: Crumble the topping over the peaches, sprinkle with demerara sugar and cinnamon.
- Bake: Bake for 20 minutes until the topping is golden and the center reaches 95°C/203°F.
- Rest: Let the cobbler rest for 20 minutes to allow the syrup to thicken.
Serve warm with ice cream, as cream is “a poor substitute.”