Tuesday, July 22, 2008

TWD: Cherrylicious Black Currant Cobbler



So I must confess. I am kinda tired of fruit desserts. I know it's middle of summer and fruit is so ripe and in season, yadda yadda...but I'm over it! OVER IT. Give me some chocolate please.

So...because I not feelin' the fruit love, I was hesitant about the TWD this week, which was, you guessed it...another fruit, cobbler style. Miss Amanda from It's Like Sprinkles picked it, and I actually really love her blog, so I embraced the choice.

The positive thing about it being a cobbler = FAST. Which means that I wouldn't be slaving over it for hours. I tossed it together while our TJ's pizzas were baking in the oven for dinner on Monday night. And it was fast. I ditched the rhubarb because I am just not a fan, plus I didn't have the time to source any kind of funky fruit (veggie?!) additions.



Since I did hit up the store today to replenish our waning food stores, I grabbed a bag of frozen cherries and then this random fun goodie bag of dried black currants hanging in the cereal aisle, of all places. Who garnishes their cereal with black currants?! Fess up now!



I took one look at Dorie's recipe for the cobbler dough and wrinkled my nose. Food processor again?! Since I don't have one, I used her hand-mixture method, like we did for the berry cobbler. So who knows what the dough balls really should have looked or tasted like, but I thought the consistency was fine, and they sure tasted good enough. The only modification I made to the dough was just adding cinnamon.



Tossed cherries in with black currants, brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, almond extract, and RUM. Because by now you probably know my motto..everything better with a little liquor?

Funny note..I am SO not a drinker at ALL despite my motto, in fact toss a raspberry vodka mojito at me (my drink of choice!), and I will probably be giggly tispy with only 1/2 of it consumed. But when it comes to baking, I really do find that using a little dash liquor can really enhance the natural flavors.

My favorite for fruit items is rum, and my favorite for something like chocolate is typically kahlua though Mr. irish cream makes his appearance now and then. So since I was halving the recipe for me and the hub, I figured the idea of rum sounds wonderful with the idea of cherries and cinnamon!



Hand mixed the dough, roughly balled it and tossed it on top of the fruit mixture in the ramekins. Halving the recipe made 2 4" ramekins. Baked for 25 minutes, let cool for 15 and then topped with fat-free redi whip (too lazy for anything homemade tonite!) and a few lone cherries.



Taste outcome...YUMMY. The rum really does work well with the cherries. The cinnamon makes its presence felt, the ginger is non-existent taste-wise. I ate the majority of the fruit mixture, and let the better half have the biscuit. He's a growing boy!

Thanks Amanda for a fabulously fruity pick this week. While I was originally a little sad about more fruit, it worked out just fine and I got some extra fiber too. Next week...stay tuned for MORE FRUIT ! :) Check out the other cobblerlicious postings at TWD.

31 comments:

Engineer Baker said...

Umm... I do... I put dried currants in my oatmeal almost every time I make it - I like them better than raisins. They sound like a wonderful addition to the cobbler!

Anonymous said...

Well it looks mighty fine and the currants sound good. I like currants with yogurt and granola, so I'm not a total weirdy, just a little one.

Anonymous said...

It all sounds and looks really good to me...great post. I love your writing, I was giggling and just picturing you being so carefree about it all...oh, a little of this, a little of that...not so much in love with the other...LOL. Very fun.

Can I have all your fruit desserts? I will trade ALL my chocolate ones for them.....

Mo said...

You and your trader joe's. You are such a good finder of awesome ingredients!

Anonymous said...

RUM! I LOVE that idea! Fantastic!

Susie Homemaker said...

what a strange combo...leave it to you to come up with something like that!!great job.

Prudy said...

I was feeling a bit tired of fruit desserts myself, but then I ended up loving it. Your sounds so good with your little of this and that. I'm always coveting a Trader Joe run.

kimberly salem said...

oh man... rum... brilliant! :) i haven't had those black currants, but they sound great. i kind of like the fruit, at least it makes me feel less guilty for all of the butter in the past ;)

Pamela said...

I think it sounds very good. Nice job!

April said...

I'm so jealous that you have a Trader Joe's! Sounds like a tasty combo of currants & cherries.

Heather B said...

You cobbler looks and sounds fabulous! Great job!

Megan said...

I'm on your side - I'm tired of fruit desserts. Bring on the cake! The pie!

But that aside, the cobbler looks very good.

Di said...

I miss Trader Joe's.. there aren't any in Texas. =( It's funny that you put rum in your fruit dessert--I put it in my chocolate ones. =)

Honeyed Hashette said...

Looks good. I don't really love sweet cherries. I prefer tart. Do you think they would have been good in this recipe?

Nickki said...

Your cobbler looks so good! I'm craving for something chocolatey as well, but then it's good to make the most of the summer fruits in season. Great job! :)

Mari said...

Gosh, I love me some cherries and yours look dark and juicy! Glad to hear that you liked the cobbler in the end!

Rigby said...

Your cobbler looks good! I've never played with currants before, but I may have to find some now :)

Anne said...

I feel the same way about fruit desserts but it was tasty. Yours looks beautiful, great job!

The Food Librarian said...

I keep seeing those black currants at TJ and wonder about them...glad to see you used them in a cobbler - great idea!

Anonymous said...

You're right. We have had a lot of fruit desserts lately. At least this one had half the butter though!
Your cobbler looks scrumptious!

LyB said...

Love your flavor combinations, it sounds perfect!

CB said...

Love that you boozed up your cobbler. LOL. Dessert eater after my own heart! Great job!
Clara @ iheartfood4thought

Judy said...

Your cobbler looks and sounds delish! Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog.

Kaitlin said...

Dried black currants! I'm so jealous. The last time I had currant anything was when I was in Europe two years ago. Wish we had Trader Joe's in Canada.... kudos to you for being adventurous :)

Dolores said...

I thought the currants were brilliant. Until I got to the rum!

Flourchild said...

Love your pictures soooo much. You are a great blogger! I love trader joes..but don't have one here in Idaho. I went to one in AZ and fell in love! What a grand idea to use the currants. My cherries were way to sweet. I learned my lesson this week. Im kinda getting sick of fruit.

Shari said...

A dash of rum sounds perfect with this! I loved how easy this recipe was too!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog

Jacque said...

Mmmm, that looks wonderful! I'm glad you ended up liking it.

I'm with you on the alcohol... not a drinker here, but am growing to like it more and more in baking. In fact, I've used up my sample size bottle of dark rum and am graduating up to a full-fledged adult size bottle on the next shopping trip. (sorry, this wasn't supposed to be about me, lol)

Anyway, great job seeing it through. And BTW, I made the galette and it was yummy. :)

Aaliyah said...

I don't think I ever had currants. Going to have to see if they have them here in Lebanon.

Your cobbler looks tasty too.

See you next week!

Anonymous said...

We'd like to invite you to participate in our July berry recipe contest. All competitors will be placed on our blogroll, and the winner will receive a fun prize! Please email me, sophiekiblogger@gmail.com, if you're interested. Feel free to check out our blog for more details: http://blog.keyingredient.com/2008/06/06/key-ingredient-cooks-kitchen-recipe-contest/

Thanks :),
Sophie
KI Chief Blogger

How To Eat A Cupcake said...

Me and cobbler (cobbler and I) are in love.