Brown Butter Nectarine Cobbler Cake - NY Times Recipe

Brown Butter Nectarine Cobbler Cake

New York Times recipe

I have an affair with nectarines every summer. My little summer romance. I adore the nectarine. I like the peach too, but I love the nectarine's smooth skin. It also makes it easier to bake with since I don't bother peeling nectarines.

Here's the third nectarine recipe I've posted in the last couple months...and I have one more in the hopper. Yes, I love the nectarine!

This recipe, from the New York Times, is super duper easy! You don't need a mixer and you don't have to mix much of anything! A layer of brown butter is placed on the bottom of your pan and a batter goes on top, followed by the nectarines that have been cooked on the stove top for just a bit. Although you might be tempted to mix the butter into the batter, don't...and you'll be rewarded with a yummy dessert.

Recipe:
Brown Butter Nectarine Cobbler Cake from the New York Times
A version of this recipe appeared in print on July 27, 2011, on page D5 of the New York edition with the headline: Brown Butter Nectarine Cobbler/Cake.

3 cups fresh nectarines or peaches in 1/2-inch slices, or a combination (about 1 pound) (I used 4 medium nectarines)
5 ounces sugar (about 3/4 cup) - Divided into 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ounces flour (about 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sliced almonds (I used Trader Joe's sliced almonds)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons Demerara sugar (I used Sugar in the Raw)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the fruit slices, 1/4 cup sugar and lemon juice. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a simmer, then take the pan off the heat.

2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and cook, swirling the pan occasionally, until it smells very nutty, turns golden, and flecks of dark brown appear, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the brown butter into an 8 by 8 baking dish. (I did mine in reverse order, using the same pan. First, I made the brown butter and poured it into the baking dish. Then, I rinsed the pan and used it to cook the fruit a bit in step 1).

3. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour the buttermilk into the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the batter on top of the brown butter, use a spatula to even out the batter but be careful not to mix it into the butter. Scatter the nectarine slices and juice on top of the batter without stirring. Sprinkle with the almonds, nutmeg and Demerara sugar. Bake until golden brown, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.

New School of Cooking - Pro Baking 1 - Class 4: Tarts, Pies, Cobblers and Crisps

I'm taking the Pro Baking 1 series at the New School of Cooking in Culver City (Los Angeles) this fall/winter. For Class 4, it was all about the Tarts, Pies, Cobblers and Crisps. I'm okay with three out of four of these...but pie crusts make me shake in fear.

However, I did it! I made a pie! From scratch! With my own hands! Oh yes, Pies Rock and I'm not afraid of you anymore!!!

We made an all butter pie crust by getting carpal pie syndrome...blending the butter and flour mixture with our fingers until the butter bits were small and the consistency of wet sand. Then we quickly added ice water and mixed it together for a bit. All done by hand with just one bowl. After a rest, I rolled out a crust with a French rolling pin (the only one to use for pie per the instructor). We used 6 very tart Granny Smith apples for the filling.

In class, the instructor emphasized that the artistry of baking is adjusting the flavoring to highlight the ingredient, or do the best with what you have. If you have a fresh-picked apple from the Farmer's Market, you need to leave it alone. If it tastes great, don't be adding flavorings to cover it up. However, if you have cold storage apples and cheaper ingredients, then you might need to bump up the cinnamon and vanilla. Knowing how to highlight something naturally delicious, and flavoring something that isn't at its peak...that's the art of baking.

The edge is simple - just pressing the edges together with a finger. I like the motto...pay more attention to the center and not the edges!

I made an Apple Pie! Whoo Hoo!

Citrus Tart (Lemon and Lime)

We made a sweet tart dough by hand as well. Obviously, the sweet tart dough is a bit more forgiving. It can get ripped up and you can press it into the pan. I learned that it is better to press in pieces than re-roll. Don't re-roll. We blind baked the tart shell.

I love this photo of our tarts out of the oven! There are 12 people in the class.

The instructor also demonstrated making a crisp and cobbler...that we all ate with homemade ice cream! I've made both in the past so I'm glad we concentrated on the crusts in class.

Next class...we move onto Chocolate and Cakes. Sweet. After a two-week holiday break, I'm looking forward to going back to class on Sunday. :)

Recaps of the New School of Cooking, Pro Baking 1 course:
Baking Therapy
Class 1: Quick Breads
Class 2: Custards
Class 3: Soufflés & Pate a Choux

Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Cherry Rhubarb Cobbler
Rhubarb... who knew?

I'm a native Southern California girl...growing up with two lemon (one Meyer, one regular), lime, Fuyu persimmon, avocado, and guava trees in the backyard. My neighbor had a peach tree that hung perfectly near our playhouse. And we even had passion fruits growing near the front porch. I'm still in So Cal, visiting my farmer's market weekly to find excellent locally grown stone fruits, figs, grapes and delightful cherries and strawberries. I'm also in a serious committed relationship with the mango, papaya and lychee fruit.

Therefore, rhubarb and I never crossed paths.

When I told my co-workers I was going to have to find rhubarb for this recipe, someone said, "Isn't rhubarb for those people who don't have real fruit near them?" (Okay, I'll admit, that someone was me).

I did find organic rhubarb at Whole Foods ($5.99/pound!!) so I bought one stalk. When I was checking out, the cashier said she had just sold some...and that she also got a call from someone looking for rhubarb! So, if you are a Torrance, California TWD baker, shot out to you!

How did it turn out? I just pulled it out of the oven and tried it...and I really couldn't tell. I made 1/4 of the recipe, but I think I used too much ground ginger. So everything tasted a little gingery (which is great), but it may have masked the true flavor of the rhubarb. The topping was great! I'll definitely use that again...probably with some stone fruits - especially the mango-flavored nectarines I get at the Farmer's Market.

Yum!

Mixed Berry Cobbler - Tuesdays with Dorie

Mixed Berry Cobbler

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie selection was picked by Beth of Our Sweet Life. A perfect summer dessert (that can be made all year) – Mixed Berry Cobbler (page 416 of Dorie’s book).

I used one bag of Trader Joe's Frozen Mixed Berries (blueberry, raspberry and blackberry) and a few more frozen blueberries in order to get 5 cups of berries. Dorie says you shouldn't use too many strawberries in the mix - those guys are too watery. I filled 8 ramekins but could have probably made 10.

I added 1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger and cinnamon each to the dry mixture. In addition, about 3 tablespoons of diced crystallized ginger went into the mix.

I also topped the cobbler with a mixture of sugar, cinnamon and ground ginger. Fresh from the oven, the cobblers had a bit of spillage.

I baked the fruit by itself for 20 minutes, and then popped the biscuit on top for another 25 minutes.

This is delicious warm from the oven...it is worth it to nuke it for a few seconds if you don't have time to warm them in the oven.

Don't forget to check out other Tuesday with Dorie creations! It is always fun to see other people's take. Next week's recipe: Apple Cheddar Scones

P.S. My bad if your blog reader got this twice. I messed up scheduling the posting for 12:01 on Tuesday (hence the name, Tuesdays with Dorie) and it went up to early - man, I caught it within seconds but technology is always faster than me. It is now scheduled correctly, but apologizes if you got it twice.