Cobble together plums and cherries for a summer treat

The paradox of summer: It's too hot to bake, yet it's the perfect season for some of the best fresh fruits to bake with.

So we adapt. This cobbler recipe takes just 32 minutes in the oven -- far less time than baking a pie. I prefer to bake at night, after dinner. Or very early in the morning. Either way, it's worth a little oven time.

I was given some gorgeous freestone plums that were sweeter than most. The inside resembled a red apricot more than a plum -- could they have been an early pluot? Aprium? Stone-fruit hybrids are very common now; there's even a fruit called a cherry plum.

But we'll call this a plum because that's what the giver called them. This cobbler combines those unnamed plums and some dark red cherries, botanical cousins in the Prunus family.  Use whichever plums you like, and enough cherries to notice -- about a 2-to-1 ratio when they're pitted and sliced. Increase the sugar in the filling by a few tablespoons if your plums are quite tart.

Cobblers can have all types of toppings: rolled out, poured out or plopped on top. Basically drop biscuits top this one-- about as easy as it gets.

Serve with ice cream or whipped cream for dessert, or all by itself for a summer breakfast.

Plum and cherry cobbler

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4 cups prepared fruit (about 10 plums or purple pluots and 20 large cherries, pitted and halved or sliced)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon allspice

Zest from 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour minus 1 tablespoon (see instructions)

1 tablespoon fine cornmeal

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/4 cup milk, dairy or nondairy

1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a 2-quart casserole dish or baking pan, gently combine the prepared fruit, sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon and allspice, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Set aside while the topping is prepared.

An easy way to handle the flour and cornmeal: Place the 1 tablespoon cornmeal in a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill it with all-purpose flour. (This eliminates the problem of scooping the flour out of the cup, which can be a mess. Ask me how I know.)

Pour the cornmeal and flour into a large bowl and add the 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder and the salt. Whisk together.

Work the cold butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, two knives or your fingers, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine the milk and beaten egg in a glass measuring cup, then pour this into the flour-butter mixture. Stir gently until all the dry ingredients are moistened. 

With a large spoon, drop mounds of dough on the fruit in the dish, being careful to leave some space between the mounds. This recipe will yield about 6 good-size biscuit mounds.

Bake at 350 degrees until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling all over, 32-35 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes before serving -- that fruit is hot!