Gluten free peach cobbler
Xanthan gum free, nut free, low lactose option*Cups and measures are in Australian cups and measures. Use gram and ml for international accuracy.
Equipment
- 28cm (1.6 litre) baking dish (the dimensions of my Le Creuset in the images are 30cm L x 20cm W x 6cm H) or a rectangular a 28cm x 22cm baking dish (4cm depth)
- 1 x 4cm mini scone cutter (or small cutter of your choice)
Ingredients
For the cobbler topping:
- 120 g tapioca flour
- 120 g white rice flour
- 10 g (2 teaspoons) baking powder
- 50 g caster/superfine sugar
- 100 g butter salted or unsalted
- 1 extra large egg whisked
- 150ml (½ cup + 1 tablespoon)* 150g? thickened cream
- Pinch of fine salt
For the peaches:
- 1.5 kg yellow peaches (they are better for cooking) becomes approximately 1.25kg after peeling and pe-pipping
- 50-75 g caster sugar
- 20 ml (1 tablespoon)* lemon juice
- 10 g (1 tablespoon)* corn starch
- Pinch of fine salt
To finish:
- 1 egg whisked (for egg wash)
- Finishing sugar, to sprinkle over the cobbler
- Vanilla ice cream, to serve (optional)
- Pinch of cinnamon powder, to serve (optional)
Instructions
To make the cobbler topping:
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder and sugar. Stir them well to combine.
- Add the butter pieces to the flour and rub the flour into the mixture. Keep going until the mixture looks a little sandy. There should be no huge chunks of butter but it shouldn’t be entirely dissolved or incorporated. Little sheets of butter are what we’re after. If it’s summer and your butter starts melting, pop the mixture in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the whisked egg and use a spoon to gently incorporate it.
- Add the cream, 1/4 cup at a time. Gently push the mixture around to combine without being too rough or flattening in the pieces of butter. The dough should be a little bit shaggy but all the loose bits of flour should be wet or attached to the main ball of dough. There should be no dry or crumbly flour. You might not need all the cream; assess as you go.
- Gather the dough into a ball in the bowl and cover. Place in the fridge for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
- Flour a clean, dry surface with tapioca flour. Place the chilled dough onto the surface, and use a rolling pin or your hands to create a rectangle of dough, about 3 centimetres thick. Keep moving the dough and making sure it isn’t sticking. Add tapioca flour whenever necessary.
- Use your scone cutter to cut out the cobbler bits, flouring it liberally and whenever necessary. Place the cut scones onto the lined baking tray, and continue until you have used all the dough. Depending on the size of your cutter, you should have 18-24 little scone bits. I like to place them in the freezer for a little while to set the butter and encourage lift in the oven but the fridge is fine too.
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
To make the peach mixture:
- Score the skin of each peach with a little X on the base and place them in a large bowl.
- Prepare a large amount of boiling water and a separate ice water bath.
- Submerge the peaches in the boiling water for 30-60 seconds – more time for firmer peaches and less time for ripe and soft peaches.
- Gently transfer the pieces to the ice water bath to shock them and discard the boiling water.
- Use your hands to peel the skin off each peach and discard the skins.
- Cut each peeled peach on the equator (see notes in body of post) and wriggle the pit to remove it. Slice each side of the cut piece into 4 wedges for a total of 8 wedges per peach.
- The peach mixture needs to be thickened by cooking. We can do this in the oven (about 20-30 minutes) or on the stovetop (about 5-10 minutes). Choose which option you would prefer.
- Place the sliced peaches in a bowl or your baking dish (if you are baking the peaches) or large pot (if you are cooking them on the stovetop) and sprinkle over the sugar. Mix gently to combine – the peaches should become very juicy.
- Mix the cornstarch and lemon juice in a small bowl to form a slurry.
- Pour the slurry into the peaches and stir to combine. Add a pinch of fine salt. If you are baking the peach mixture, place it into your baking dish on a large baking tray (to catch any drips) and into the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the liquid is bubbling and syrupy in consistency (as opposed to being a thin liquid).
- If you are cooking the peaches on the stovetop, cook the mixture on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until the liquid has become a syrupy consistency. Don’t stir too roughly or too often or you will break up the peach pieces.
To finish and bake:
- Take the cobbler pieces out of the fridge. Brush them with the egg for egg wash and sprinkle them with the finishing sugar.
- Work quickly to place them evenly atop the peach mixture – because the peaches will be warm, the cobbler pieces will start to melt. Place the baking dish on a large oven tray to catch any dripping juices if you haven't already.
- Once assembled, place the cobbler in the oven and turn the heat down to 180C/356F. Bake the cobbler for 20-30 minutes or until the cobbler is golden brown and the juices are syrupy and bubbling up.
- Serve warm or cooled – the juices will thicken up as the cobbler cools. I highly recommend serving with some vanilla ice cream and maybe a sprinkle of cinnamon atop the cobbler.
Notes
- See the body of the post for tips and ingredient notes.
- I highly recommend serving this with my Ninja Creami vanilla ice cream recipe. I also have a lactose free version if you need it to be lactose free.
- I haven't tested crumbling the cobbler topping onto the peaches instead of shaping the pieces individually. I imagine it would work nicely but might be harder to brush with egg.
- I haven't tested canned peaches in this recipe yet. Stay tuned!
- I have not tested any other flours in this recipe. There are two options for the cobbler mixture - the recipe as specified in the recipe card or a less starchy version in my blueberry cobbler recipe.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!