You can use any kind of ripe stone fruit here — I love this with peaches, cherries, apricots, or a mix thereof. Just swap by weight. The sugar level is listed as a range and I want to be absolutely clear that if you use only 1/2 cup, you will have a very tart cobbler that’s almost definitely not for everyone. It contrasts beautifully with vanilla ice cream but will be a little harsh on its own. The 2/3 cup-level will be far from overtly sweet, promise.
- 2 1/2 pounds (1.15 kg) unpitted fresh, ripe plums, any variety, or other stone fruit
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup (100 to 130 grams) granulated sugar (see Note)
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch (30 grams) or 3 tablespoons (25 grams) tapioca flour/starch
- 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for counter
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons, 4 ounces, or 115 grams), unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (225 grams) heavy cream, divided
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) coarse or turbinado sugar
Fruit
Scone topping
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, granulated sugar and salt. Add butter and use your fingertips or a pastry blender to work the butter into smaller pieces, until the largest is the size of small peas. Add your almond or vanilla extract and all but 1 tablespoon of the heavy cream (i.e. you’re adding 15 tablespoons) and stir into the butter-flour mixture until it forms larger masses. Knead once or twice with hands if needed to come together.
Sprinkle counter with flour and turn dough out onto it. Flour the top of the dough and pat it out to a generous 1/2-inch (1.25-cm) thickness. Use a knife to cut dough slab into 1 1/2-inch (3.75-cm) squares. Arrange squares over fruit in pan, spacing them slightly. Brush tops of scone squares with remaining 1 tablespoon heavy cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake cobbler for 40 to 45 minutes, until scones are puffy and browned on top and fruit is bubbling juices up around the pan.
If you can bear it, let cobbler cool for 15 to 20 minutes before digging in. Fruit will thicken as it cools. Serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top; nothing else will do.
