Fourth Of July Rebellious Plum And Cherry Johnnycake Cobbler

  This seemed like it would be the world's easiest cobbler, when I first began making it.  The recipe is simple and looked interesting, with a johnnycake topping. Johnnycake is the name white cornmeal was given in the early days of this country before the United States won independence.  So, I thought this might be a nice dessert to celebrate July 4th.   Unfortunately, the cobbler suddenly rebelled (like the American colonies) and refused to bake as ordered.  Instead of taking only 16 minutes, as the instructions called for, it took almost 40 minutes.   The resulting cobbler tasted very good, but the extended baking time made the biscuit topping crisp, not light and fluffy. Still, I enjoyed a dish of it with ice cream.

The recipe starts out simply, by cooking sliced plums and pitted cherries briefly in butter and sugar.  It took barely 4 minutes before they softened sufficiently.

The topping is flour, corn meal, butter, baking powder, and cream mixed together.

I followed the instructions on putting the topping on, but I now think it would be better to make the layer thinner.  A wider dish is probably better than this one, even though the cookbook showed it cooked in a dish with the same type of width.

The crust rebelled and took almost 4 times as long to bake as it should have taken.  The cobbler still tasted good, but it would have been better if the topping was lighter and fluffier than it turned out. However, I enjoyed the corn meal in the topping. It provided a light crunch that was very enjoyable.  I'll try this again, with a thinner application of crust.   And maybe I'll cook it on a holiday that doesn't celebrate a successful rebellion and independence.  You never know what ideas ingredients may pick up.

Johnny Cake Plum and Cherry Cobbler

(Baking With Julia)

6 cups sliced plums and pitted sweet cherries
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup sugar (or more to taste)

Melt the butter and add the sugar, stir to dissolve. Then add the fruit and cook over medium heat until the fruit gives up some liquid and softens. This took me about 4 minutes.  Then raise the heat to high and cook for a couple minutes to reduce the juice a bit.  Then put the fruit in a 1.5 quart dish or divide among small individual baking dishes. 

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup white stone ground corn meal--you can use yellow if you wish
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter (4 Tablespoons)
1-1'2 cups heavy cream

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a food processor bowl.    Pulse a few times to mix together.  Then drop the pieces of butter in the bowl and flip them a few times with your fingers to coat with flour. Then pulse about 18 times until all the butter has been combined with the flour and it looks like meal.  (Note:  You can make this strictly by hand if you wish.)  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour 1-1'4 cup of the cream in the center. Using a fork, draw the flour into the center and mix together. The mixture should form curds as you mix it and all come together in a moist mixture.   If it's still dry, add up to 1/4 cup more cream to the mixture.   Spoon the mixture onto top of the fruit. Don't worry if it looks uneven or clumpy. 

Place baking dish on a foil covered jelly roll pan and cook for 16 to 20 minutes until nicely browned.  Let rest for 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven and serve warm.  Serve the same say you baked it. Do not reheat. Serve at room temperature for up to 3 hours after baking.

Comments

[Tartelette]

I know it must have been difficult to wait that long for dessert but it looks fantastic...worth the extra time!

[Katiez]

It looks delicious! A bit of crunch goed nice with cherries and ice cream.... Actually, anything goes nice with cherries and ice cream....

Didn't know johnnycake was white cornmeal. My day is done, I learned something new!

[Kelly Cat's vacationing human]

Never been a plum fan, but that recipe and those pictures sure look good...

[ann]

mmmm... now that I'm conquering my baking fears this looks like something I could conquer. And it sounds delicious! Thanks Sher!

[Lydia]

For some reason that I don't understand, Rhode Islanders cannot agree on whether johnnycake is spelled with or without an "h". I've seen it both ways, as jonnycakes (or johnnycakes) are very popular here. Either way, the name comes from "journeycake", named for the itinerant tradesmen who supposedly invented it.

[aria]

omg sher, i haven't thought about johnnycakes in forever! i'm from RI too and remember every year going to the johnnycake festival...

there are so many delicious quirky snacks you can only get in RI, i really need a coffee milk this morning!!

[Callipygia]

Thanks for the warning about ingredients getting funny ideas, need to stay in control in my kitchen... I have always been curious about that recipe in Julia, now I'll be sure to try it (and I think I'd prefer the 4X crunchier version, like a sweetened cheeto!) Great recipe idea.

[Kristen]

I'm a crust gal...the more crust the better, so this looks like my kind of tasty treat!

[Tanna]

Sher, Wow, that looks spectacular 4th of July to me! I love cornmeal cakes and biscuits and would think this would be excellent. I've made a note re your experience here in my copy of this book. I already had this one marked.

[Glenna]

So sorry for the troubles but it looks delicious! And I bet you have a cherry pitter, unlike me. :-)

[kristi]

Yum. Cherries have got to be one of my most favorite fruits. This looks delicious (despite the pesky preparation)!

[Garrett]

Ooooh, plum cobbler sounds shibby good!

[Georgia]

Wow, that looks amazing!!! I think I just figured out what I'm making for breakfast this weekend.

[Patricia Scarpin]

Even though you had problems baking the cobbler, it looks mouthwatering, Sher!

[Ann]

Well, problems or no problems, this looks postively yummy. :b

[Jennifer]

Ooh how delicious! My Grandpa used to make something similar but with peaches! I've never thought of doing the Johnnycake version though- sounds really yummy.