Upside Down Peach Cobbler
Move over berries, it's time to make room for the stone fruits. Yep folks, it's that glorious part of August when all the peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, plumcots? and more take center stage and while eating a perfectly ripe peach with the juices running down your chin is a summer-must, so is a bowl of warm peach cobbler preferably topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Life just doesn't get any better!
I can't believe I've gone this long without blogging a peach cobbler recipe with you. There are other cobbler recipes like this Fresh Nectarine-Vanilla Cobbler, Peach-Plum Cobbler and my Easy Blueberry Cobbler, one of the most popular recipes on the site and this one for Apple Cobbler and this Cherry Lime Cobbler but this is the first peach-only version and what a winner it is!! And whereas many traditional cobblers have a biscuit topping, this one is more in the cakey realm and comes together in an unusual way so that the bottom becomes the top and vice versa.
Confused? Read on and all will become clear. There's a little bit of magic at work here because while you start by placing the batter for what will eventually become the cake part on the bottom of the baking dish and topping it with the peaches, what you end up with is the cake on top and the peaches on the bottom. So cool and so delicious!!
And speaking of peaches, it is imperative that you use the best of the best most ripe juicy specimens you can find. Hard mealy tasteless peaches have no place here, really no place anywhere, right? Is anything worse than mealy fruit?!! Use the best and you will be rewarded with spoonfuls of luscious mouthwatering peachy filling encased with a buttery, tender, cinnamon-enhanced crumb. Check out that river of peach juice running throughout!!
Truly, isn't this what summer is all about?!!
Upside Down Peach Cobbler
Makes 6-8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes; Bake Time: 45 minutes-1 hour
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- 5 large peaches, peeled, pitted and cut into medium slices
For the topping
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup self rising flour (if you don't have any you can make it yourself by adding 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt to 1 cup regular flour and mixing well)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- Vanilla ice cream for topping (optional, but not really)
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. To make the filling: place the water, sugar and corn syrup in a medium pot and bring to a boil. Add the sliced peaches and let cook over medium heat stirring every now and then. Remove from the heat and let cool a bit.
3. To make the topping: in a medium bowl, mix the sugar, flour and baking powder together. Add the lemon juice to the milk and whisk together, then whisk the milk mixture into the dry ingredients until most of the lumps are gone.
4. Pour the melted butter into a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread around so it's distributed evenly. Spoon the peaches and their syrup on top in the middle of the dish but don't mix it around. You want the layers to be separate. Sprinkle the cinnamon evenly across the top.
5. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the crust is golden brown and peach mixture is bubbly. Serve immediately as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from A Real Southern Cook by Dora Charles.
