Thursday, August 10, 2006
We’re right in the middle of fresh peach season, which opens up many gourmet vistas. Last year, I tried peach smoothies, which didn’t work so well. Maybe I should have peeled off the skin first. Thankfully, a few weeks ago I found the perfect solution – peach cobbler.
Essentially, you’re layering a cake over a pie filling. Since a pie crust is little more than a barely-concealed mega-glob of unmitigated butter, you can see why the cobbler route is the preferred way to go. Besides, it’s a lot easier than rolling pie dough. This is the perfect healthy comfort food, with all the advantages of sinful indulgence.
"McMan’s Southern Comfort (Without Real Southern Comfort) Peach-Raspberry Cobbler"
First the cobbler part of the recipe:
Compared to other aspects of cooking, baking tends to be a science, using precise measurements, so I tend not to deviate too far from established recipes. The measurements used here come from a Williams-Sonoma blueberry cobbler recipe, with low-fat and low-cal ingredients substituted for their fatty sugary ones.
In a bowl, stir together your dry ingredients. These include 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, two teaspoons baking powder, a bit of ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and a quarter-cup of Splenda. The Williams-Sonoma recipe calls for a third of a cup of sugar. Splenda is supposed to match up with sugar measure for measure, but I find it much sweeter. You may even find that using half-measures of Splenda works better in your cooking. It’s a matter of individual taste.
Another note about Splenda: Unlike aspartame that is sold under the trade name NutraSweet and Equal, this compound does not destabilize when exposed to high temperatures. This makes Splenda a very satisfactory sugar substitute when baking.
Now the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the equivalent of one egg (such as Egg Beaters), ½ cup skim milk, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and six tablespoons canola oil. (The Williams-Sonoma recipe calls for egg, buttermilk, and butter.)
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and blend gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Don’t overdo it. Overworked gluten in the flour makes you wish you were eating cardboard, instead.
Now to the fruit part of the recipe:
You don’t want to leave sliced fresh peaches sitting around, which is why it’s a good idea to do this part of the recipe last. Boil four or five fresh peaches for a minute, then plunge into cold water. The skin will come right off.
Slice open the peaches, remove the stone, and slice into quarters or chunks. Toss into a bowl with a cup of fresh raspberries. Peaches are one of those fruits that work very well with a partner, such as fresh cherries or mangoes. The idea is to get two complementary or contrasting tastes popping in the mouth.
Add a quarter cup of Splenda and a tablespoon of all-purpose flour. To get the flavor really popping, zest a lemon and toss in. A word about zesting: you are essentially filing off the yellow part of the skin of the lemon with a grater-like instrument. Leave on the underlying white layer. This is the pith and tastes extremely bitter. Get a proper zester. Enlisting a common grater in the cause will result in a lot of scraped knuckles and little zest. Cut what’s left of the lemon into quarters and toss into a pitcher of water. I always have some fresh lemon water on hand in the fridge. You may also want to add a pinch of salt (to the peaches, not the lemon water). Even in fruit, salt brings out the flavor.
Essentially, you’re layering a cake over a pie filling. Since a pie crust is little more than a barely-concealed mega-glob of unmitigated butter, you can see why the cobbler route is the preferred way to go. Besides, it’s a lot easier than rolling pie dough. This is the perfect healthy comfort food, with all the advantages of sinful indulgence.
"McMan’s Southern Comfort (Without Real Southern Comfort) Peach-Raspberry Cobbler"
First the cobbler part of the recipe:
Compared to other aspects of cooking, baking tends to be a science, using precise measurements, so I tend not to deviate too far from established recipes. The measurements used here come from a Williams-Sonoma blueberry cobbler recipe, with low-fat and low-cal ingredients substituted for their fatty sugary ones.
In a bowl, stir together your dry ingredients. These include 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour, two teaspoons baking powder, a bit of ground cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and a quarter-cup of Splenda. The Williams-Sonoma recipe calls for a third of a cup of sugar. Splenda is supposed to match up with sugar measure for measure, but I find it much sweeter. You may even find that using half-measures of Splenda works better in your cooking. It’s a matter of individual taste.
Another note about Splenda: Unlike aspartame that is sold under the trade name NutraSweet and Equal, this compound does not destabilize when exposed to high temperatures. This makes Splenda a very satisfactory sugar substitute when baking.
Now the wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the equivalent of one egg (such as Egg Beaters), ½ cup skim milk, ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract, and six tablespoons canola oil. (The Williams-Sonoma recipe calls for egg, buttermilk, and butter.)
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones and blend gently with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Don’t overdo it. Overworked gluten in the flour makes you wish you were eating cardboard, instead.
Now to the fruit part of the recipe:
You don’t want to leave sliced fresh peaches sitting around, which is why it’s a good idea to do this part of the recipe last. Boil four or five fresh peaches for a minute, then plunge into cold water. The skin will come right off.
Slice open the peaches, remove the stone, and slice into quarters or chunks. Toss into a bowl with a cup of fresh raspberries. Peaches are one of those fruits that work very well with a partner, such as fresh cherries or mangoes. The idea is to get two complementary or contrasting tastes popping in the mouth.
Add a quarter cup of Splenda and a tablespoon of all-purpose flour. To get the flavor really popping, zest a lemon and toss in. A word about zesting: you are essentially filing off the yellow part of the skin of the lemon with a grater-like instrument. Leave on the underlying white layer. This is the pith and tastes extremely bitter. Get a proper zester. Enlisting a common grater in the cause will result in a lot of scraped knuckles and little zest. Cut what’s left of the lemon into quarters and toss into a pitcher of water. I always have some fresh lemon water on hand in the fridge. You may also want to add a pinch of salt (to the peaches, not the lemon water). Even in fruit, salt brings out the flavor.
