If I had to choose just one favorite fruit, it would be raspberries. A luxury item indeed, nothing beats the taste of a sun-ripened, warm raspberry fresh off the bush. When combined with Maine wild blueberries, the two fruits are a sensory homerun: luscious taste, beautiful red, blue and crimson colors, field fresh, sweet fragrances, and mouthwatering textures.
Now that the wild blueberry season is in full regalia, it’s easy to enjoy fresh blueberries every day, and stock your freezer with nature’s number one antioxidant fruit. And for those fortunate enough to have a source of raspberries, lucky you! Once picked however, this fragile fruit does not keep well. And this is how I discovered the recipe for Wild Blueberry and Raspberry Cobbler.
With a surplus of fresh raspberries that were too mushy to be frozen, but not quite to the moldy stage, I needed a quick, easy and delicious way to enjoy them. The recipe is adapted from the New Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas, and is flexible for a wide variety of berries and fruits. I like the wholesomeness and texture of the whole wheat topping, and the low sugar allows the fruit flavors to really shine.
To elevate this to star dessert status, try serving it with a scoop of local artisan ice cream, or whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup. This recipe also works well with frozen fruit. The first bite is guaranteed to remind you of our glorious Maine summers.
Wild Blueberry and Raspberry Cobbler
Ingredients
- 6 cups Maine wild blueberries and raspberries total of a combination of frozen or fresh
- ¾ cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/3 cup whole meal flour or whole wheat
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon (Generous) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon (Generous) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large, non-reactive pot, combine the water, ¾ cup sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Stir to dissolve, then add the fruit. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook for a few minutes to cook the cornstarch. Taste and correct the sugar or lemon juice if necessary. Pour the mixture into a greased 9-inch by 13-inch glass baking pan.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and baking powder, sugar, and spices) Melt the butter and whisk into the buttermilk. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. The batter will be sticky. Drop by spoonfuls onto the fruit. Bake until the topping is golden, about 25 minutes. Serve topped with plain, unsweetened yogurt. Makes 12 servings.