Cobbler #3

I actually made strawberry cobbler about a week ago as my contribution to a potluck party. The recipe was exactly Paula Deen’s recipe, except with lots of corn starch in the sauce, and strawberries. I didn’t get a chance to each much (and was a little drunk when I did), so I’m not really counting that as an attempt. That said, everyone that tried it seemed to really like it.

Tonight, I wanted to try something a little different. One thing I thought eating the topping last time was that it felt too homogenous, so I decided to try to fix that using oats. Here is the recipe (it’s nice, it’s finally different enough that I feel like I should type it all up):

Topping-
½ c unbleached all-purpose flour
½ c white sugar
¼ c oatmeal
1 t baking powder
pinch of salt
¾ c milk
4 T butter

Filling- (this part was less well measured)
~2 c frozen strawberries
~¼ c water
~¼ c sugar
~½ c sugar
~2 T minced fresh ginger (I wanted to try this combo)
pinch of salt

Preheat toaster oven to 350F. Throw everything in the filling in a pot, and boil it until the sauce thickens. Combine the dry ingredients in the topping. Stir in the milk until it is as homogeneous as possible (the oats will provide some lumps). It should be very liquidy. Melt your butter, and pour it in the bottom of a bread pan. Pour flour mixture on top of that. Pour your strawberry filling on top of that. Put in the over for 40 minutes. Remove, and let cool slightly.

So, how did it turn out? Well, I like the heat that ginger adds, but 2T was too much. Next time I think I’ll try 1. Also, the cobbler lacked structural support, and was really gooey. Like, too gooey. Next time, I think I’m going to try adding another ¼ c of flour. The recipe had originally be for ¾ c, but I replaced it with the oats. Bad idea. Next time, I just add the oats directly in (or possibly almonds).

NEXT DAY EDIT: Okay, I tried it the next morning. The ginger actually wasn't too bad, unless you bit into a piece of it. I think it was just that I hadn't let the cobbler properly cool. Maybe next time I'll just boil the ginger for a while, and then remove it. Also, trying the topping a second time, I had a few thoughts. It was kind still kind of gooey, but I really liked that it had integrated in with the fruit. It really didn't feel like they were separate things. Also, despite my attempt with the oats, I couldn't actually notice any textural differences. So, next time, if I want to add texture, I use nuts.

I'm seriously thinking that next time, instead of making the dough like Yorkshire Pudding (completely homogeneous, slightly runny, and with all the fat on the outside), I might try the same thing, except making it more like biscuits (rubbing cold butter into the dough, and maybe not adding quite so much milk). I wonder if that will still expand out over top of the fruit? Hopefully it will give the topping a real crumb texture, rather than the fairly homogeneous cakey texture it has.