Recipe | Apricot & blackberry cobbler

Apricots are the announcement of summer; they’re so versatile and they continue to ripen after they are picked so don’t be put off by them being firm at the market. Here is a beautiful summery dessert that showcases them at their best.

Serve with cream, ice cream or yoghurt.

Ingredients

700g fresh apricots

120g raw caster sugar

300g fresh or frozen blackberries

60g raw caster sugar

1 heaped tbsp cornflour

icing sugar

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Cobbler topping

50g raw caster sugar

100g flour

60g ground almonds

Pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp grated lemon zest

100g softened butter

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

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Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C fan bake.

Cut the apricots in half, removing the stones.

Place the halved apricots into an ovenproof dish, ideally a 24cm round ceramic or glass pie dish, and sprinkle with the first measure of sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes until the apricots are tender. Set aside to cool.

Toss the blackberries in the second measure of sugar and the cornflour. Set aside while you make the cobbler topping.

To make the cobbler topping, place the dry ingredients and lemon zest in a bowl and mix in the butter until well combined (do this by hand or use a spatula). Lightly whisk the egg and vanilla together and fold into the mixture.

Spoon the coated blackberries on top of the cooled apricots, then use a clean spoon to drop random dollops of the cobbler topping, leaving gaps in between.

Place on a baking tray and bake for 30–35 minutes until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling up through the centre.

Dust with icing sugar before serving.

*You can make this in the winter using tinned or frozen fruits. In fact, use the cobbler topping for any fruits you like.

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