Southern peach cobbler ~ 2 ways ^^

Bliss.. ^^

A whole Saturday afternoon/evening spent on baking for big pig's whodunit party! ^^ Made dailydelicious's strawberry cheesecake with mascarpone topping, chez panisse almond tart, nama chocolates.. and some panna cotta too, with leftover cream.. a happy day ^^

And a whole Sunday evening helping out at the victorian-themed party (the word servant somehow comes to mind ^^||).. Anyways, I volunteered for it ^^. Isn't that what all good aunts do *angelic look* ^^? Btw, you won't forget about that trip to spain you promised when you're rich, right, piggies? *wink**wink**oink-oink!*

While I was on my feet the whole evening, my eyes was on a southern peach cobbler ^^ made by one of big's guests! ^^ The prize of hard work ~ a piece of yummy treat! ^^

My first thought after tasting southern peach cobbler was that it's a rich, pudding-like dessert with a soft-chewy texture.. so different from the crisp, crumble-like cobbler I had in mind. That friend (an american, mentioned that the soft, rich pudding-like dessert is the "real" southern deal) had added a tinge of rice flour to the recipe as she ran out of all purpose flour, which made me wonder if rice flour made the dessert chewy.. My curiousity was piqued!

So I decided to make 2 versions of southern peach cobbler ^^ ~ half a recipe each ~ just to compare! The first recipe turned out exactly like the one I had last night.. only much softer and less chewy ^^. The second recipe produced a nice crisp, cobbled crust with a soft cake-like texture underneath. ^^

Southern peach cobbler (recipe from southernplate)
~ rich, soft pudding-like version
1 stick (115g) unsalted butter
1 cup (125-140g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup (200g) sugar (I used 150g ^^)
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
1 cup fresh milk (I used low fat ^^)
1 can (29oz/825g) peaches, drained and sliced

1. Heat oven to 350F/180C and melt butter in a 9x13" oven-proof baking dish in the oven. I left melted butter in the oven longer to bubble and turn golden.. and made browned butter, yums! ^^

2. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon powder till blended. Pour in milk and mix till well combined.

3. Remove the baking dish with melted butter from the oven and carefully put batter into melted butter. Do NOT stir.

4. Then place sliced peaches on top of the batter. Do NOT mix.

5. Bake till golden, about 55 minutes. Serve cold or warm, with a dollop of ice cream if you like. ^^

rich and moist, soft pudding-like texture with chewy burnt parts ~ yums! ^^

Southern peach cobbler (recipe adapted from allrecipes)
~ crumble-like crust, cake-like texture version
1 can (29oz/825g) peaches, drained and sliced
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp butter, diced (optional but do use to keep peaches nicely moist)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
a pinch of salt
1 stick butter (115g) unsalted butter, chilled and diced
1/4 cup hot water
1 tsp sugar

1. Place sliced peaches in a greased oven-proof baking dish. Sprinkle some cinnamon powder over and put bits of butter all over peaches.

2. In another bowl, blend flour, baking powder, sugars and salt together. Blend in diced butter till mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in water till batter comes together.. you'll end up with a thick, soft runny batter.

3. Drop spoonsful of batter/topping all over peaches. Sprinkle 1 tsp sugar over the topping. Bake in a preheated oven of 400F/200C for about 40-45 minutes, or till golden. Serve warm or cold ^^.

deliciously soft cake texture under a crisp, crumble-like crust.. mmm.. ^^

I enjoyed both! Same name, same ingredients (almost! ^^), but totally different taste and texture.. one tasting richer than the other (I like! ^^).. both GORGEOUS! Perfect with a nice cup of coffee ^^ and for sharing. ^^

Oh, yes! The whodunit party was a success ^^! Even if the teen-guests didn't quite figure out the murderer! They embraced their roles so whole-heartedly, came properly dressed in victorian garb and spoke in snooty english/russian/etc throughout dinner as per their characters, dined, drank and be merry (till someone was murdered! and quickly forgotten, haha!) over a beautifully laid out 6-course dinner with (sparkling) wine! 'twas a wonderful evening! ^^

p.s. the swirled strawberry cheesecake (no cracks! ^^) and mascarpone topping (a wee runny, but delish ^^) was good, but the cake as a whole would've been better without the cookie base. it's just my personal preference.. i'm not exactly a fan of digestive biscuit. well, they ate the cheesecake anyways, and the peach cobbler.. and the almond tart.. as well as the nama chocolates ~ teens with voracious appetites, yet not gain weight??!! life is good ^^!!! and happiness are days like this.. ^^