Recipe: Barbecued Bourbon Peach Cobbler
Use a cast-iron skillet to cook this delicious dessert directly on the barbecue.
Recipe: Anthony Hoy Fong
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
10 yellow peaches, peeled and sliced (about 8 cups)
1 tsp lemon juice
¼ cup bourbon
2 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp cinnamon
¾ cup raw sugar, plus 2 tbsp for the topping
1 vanilla bean
1½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
12 tbsp cold butter, cut into small cubes
2 tbsp buttermilk
6 scoops vanilla bean ice cream, to serve
METHOD
Place the sliced peaches, lemon juice, bourbon, cornflour, cinnamon and quarter of a cup of the sugar in a large mixing bowl. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into the bowl. Mix until everything is well incorporated, then set aside to macerate while you prepare the topping.
Place the flour, baking powder, salt and remaining sugar in a food processor and pulse 2-3 times to mix. Add the cold butter and pulse for 30-40 seconds until well incorporated. Mix until the dough just comes together.
Place a medium-sized cast-iron skillet on the barbecue over a high heat. Add the peaches and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until heated through and bubbling. Drop tablespoons of the dough over the peaches, leaving small randomly spaced gaps between each spoonful. Lightly brush the dough with the buttermilk and sprinkle with the extra sugar.
Reduce heat to medium-low, close the barbecue lid and cook for 40-45 minutes until the cobbler is browned on top and the fruit is bubbling around edges. (Alternatively, bake cobbler ahead of time in the oven for 30 minutes at 200°C, then reheat on the barbecue over a medium heat for 7-8 minutes until the fruit bubbles around edges.) Serve warm with ice cream.
Best-ever cobbler
• If you use ripe, in-season fruit your cobbler will be incredible – use berries and stone fruit in summer and apples and pears in winter.
• Don’t over-work the topping – like scones, the more you work the dough the heavier the result.
• Brushing the top of the cobbler with a little buttermilk ensures it browns evenly, and a sprinkling of sugar gives it a nice crunch.
