Rick Stein uses a food processor to whizz together the topping for his sticky damson cobbler – it’s up to the oven to do the hard work.
Ingredients
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900g/2lb damsons, washed and stalks removed
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100g/4oz caster sugar
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- For the cobbler topping
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225g/8oz self-raising flour
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2 tsp baking powder
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75g/3oz chilled butter, diced
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100g/4oz caster sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
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a pinch of salt
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1 medium egg
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100ml/4fl oz buttermilk
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15g/1/2oz flaked almonds
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Preparation method
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Spread the damsons over the base of a 2 litre/3½ pint shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the caster sugar. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
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Sift the flour, baking powder, the 100g/4oz of caster sugar and a pinch of salt into a bowl or a food processor, add the butter and work together until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
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Break the egg into the buttermilk and beat together well. Add to the dry ingredients and mix together lightly into a soft, sticky dough. Drop walnut-sized spoonfuls of the mixture over the top of the damsons, leaving a little space between each one, then sprinkle with the flaked almonds and the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar.
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Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden and bubbling, covering it loosely with a sheet of foil if it is browning a little too quickly. It is done when a skewer, pushed into the middle of the cobbler topping, comes away clean. Leave to cool briefly before serving with some custard, double cream or crème fraîche.