Plum and Tarragon Cobbler

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One of the few fruits I could be convinced to eat when I was younger were plums. I still have a fondness for them, especially when roasted, turned into jam or baked into cakes, and desserts. They’re not the most glamorous or exciting fruit out there and are a little underrated but I love them all the same.

We’re continuing on in the season of cosy baking and as much as I love and champion a fully beige pudding, this week, I’m leaning heavily into the fruity, more colourful side of things with a hearty plum & tarragon cobbler. A cobbler sits somewhere in the middle between a pie and a crumble and it always hits the spot for me when I fancy a topping that’s a bit richer and more substantial. This particular recipe is from my cookbook, I’ll Bring Dessert, so some of you might have made it already.

Fresh tarragon is blitzed with sugar and tossed over the plums for a fragrant addition that brightens everything up. Give it a go this weekend and serve it in a big bowl half drowning in hot custard whilst curled up on the sofa.

Enjoy,

Benjamina x

Sweet Things This Weekend

One for the chocolate lovers! This weekend, (Saturday 18th October), is celebrating 20 years of her Chocolate Tours with a very special pop up. There’s an incredible line up of bakers and chocolatiers including Edd Kimber, Bunhead Bakery, Alexina Anatole, Pump Street Chocolate and many many more. I’m gutted I can’t make it down but if you’re free this weekend, it looks like it’ll be a delicious day!

PLUM & TARRAGON COBBLER

When I think of tarragon, my mind goes to roast chicken almost straight away. When cooking, I don’t use it for much else. They’re perfect companions but if you’ve been here a little while, you’ll know how much I love using herbs in sweet bakes. Plums pair fabulously with things like Chinese five spice, star anise and fennel and they all share the same liquorice adjacent vibe. Tarragon is the same; it’s got a sweet and delicate anise flavour that sits in the background of this dish and adds a bit more depth.

If you can’t get hold of fresh tarragon then a bit of ground fennel or five spice would be a good substitution. The original recipe uses a 50/50 mix of plain and spelt flour but I’ve used all plain flour in this version as that’s what I had.

RECIPE

For the plums
80g caster sugar (you may need a touch more if your plums are quite tart, so taste and adjust)
7 sprigs of fresh tarragon, leaves picked
10 small plums (or 8 bigger), pitted and quartered
1⁄2 tsp vanilla bean paste

For the cobbler
150g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
30g caster sugar
60g cold salted butter, diced
100ml double cream

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 190c/170c fan.

2. Add the sugar and tarragon to a food processor and blitz briefly to break down the tarragon.

3. Add the plum quarters to a baking dish and spoon the tarragon sugar on top. Give it all a good mix so the plums are coated, then stir in the vanilla bean paste. Cover loosely with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the plums have started to soften and release some of their juices. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little. Let it cool completely if you’re making in advance.

4. To make the cobbler, add the flour, baking powder and sugar to a bowl and mix to combine. Toss in the butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the flour until you have mixture that looks like fine breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and pour in the cream. Give it a stir to combine until you have a rough, soft dough. It doesn’t need to be smooth, so be careful not to overwork it.

5. Using a tablespoon or your hands, add dollops of the cobbler on top of the plums, leaving some of the fruit poking through. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the cobbler is golden and the fruit juices are bubbling underneath.

6. Serve the cobbler warm with hot custard or cold cream.