Tarragon Plum Cobbler - Recipe by Benjamina Ebuehi

Ingredients

For the plums:

80 g caster (superfine) sugar (you may need a touch more if your plums are quite tart, so taste and adjust)
7 sprigs of fresh tarragon
10 small plums (or 8 bigger), pitted and quartered
2 Tbs water
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

For the cobbler:

75 g plain (all-purpose) flour
75 g spelt flour (or you can use all plain if preferred)
30 g caster sugar
60 g cold salted butter, diced
100mL double (heavy) cream

Method

Preheat the oven to 190 C.

Add the sugar and tarragon to a food processor and blitz briefly to break down the tarragon.

Add the plum quarters and vanilla to a baking dish and spoon the tarragon sugar on top. Give it all a good mix so the plums are coated, then drizzle the water on top. Cover loosely with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the plums have started to soften and release some of their juices. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little. Let cool completely if you’re making in advance.

To make the cobbler, add the flour and sugar to a bowl and mix to combine. Toss in the butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the flour. Make a well in the centre and pour in the cream. Give it a stir to combine until you have a rough, soft dough. It doesn’t need to be smooth, so be careful not to overwork it.

Using a tablespoon, add dollops of the cobbler on top of the plums, leaving some of the fruit poking through. Bake for 30–35 minutes until the cobbler is golden and the fruit juices are bubbling underneath.

Serve the cobbler warm with ice cream or cold cream.

Credits: This is an edited extract from I’ll Bring Dessert by Benjamina Ebuehi, published by Quadrille. Available in stores nationally. Photography by Laura Edwards. RRP $49.99.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from I’ll Bring Dessert by Benjamina Ebuehi, published by Quadrille. Available in stores nationally. Photography by Laura Edwards. RRP $49.99.