Wednesday 2 January 2013

Gluten Free Apricot Cherry Cobbler Heaven

I've been avoiding gluten for well over a year now and feel so much healthier. I sleep better, my boils disappeared (after 10 years), I have more energy and just feel better all round. Interestingly, the boils started after the birth of my first child so maybe childbirth/pregnancy hormones had some effect on my body and it's ability to deal with gluten. Food for thought. {Pun intentional. :)}

I spent some time in the UK/Europe recently and ordered meals which I didn't realize were pasta based. I chose to eat them anyway and didn't suffer any ill effects from them at all. Since I returned I've been experimenting with Australian flours and breads with no success. From the research I've done and the experimenting with different recipes and combinations at home I'm pretty sure it just boils down to the fact that the wheat crops in the UK/Europe are a different strain than the Australian/US wheat that is grown. My body handles UK/European wheat better. So I've come to terms with being mostly flour free unless I can get my hands on some UK/European wheat at a reasonable cost.

I like to cook and I like to bake. Especially if we have friends over. No one leaves my house hungry. :D I've been experimenting with cobblers and hit the jackpot! I liked the simplicity of this recipe and adapted it to be gluten free. I tried it with pears but find them a bit bland. This is my favourite version of cobbler. Delicious flavours, crusty cakey top and absolutely easy to make.


Gluten Free Apricot Cherry Cobbler




I use:

  • 1 large (825g) can of apricot halves, drained of syrup/juice
  • 1 (425g) of black cherries, drained of syrup/juice
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 50g butter
  • 3/4 cup plain gluten free flour (bought from supermarket in a packet)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg

How I make it:

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C.

Rummage through your baking gear and find something about the size of a casserole dish. I have a pyrex casserole dish about 20cm diameter that I like to use.

Place the butter into the dish and pop it in the oven.

While the butter is melting, grab a mixing bowl and mix all the dry ingredients together.

Make a hole in the dry ingredients. Crack the egg into the hole and pour the milk in with the egg. Beat them together with a fork or whisk. Then mix them into the dry ingredients until you get a batter consistency.*

Pour the batter on top of the butter. Don't mix or stir.

Place the apricots on top of the batter.  Don't mix or stir.

Sprinkle the cherries on top of everything. Don't mix or stir.

Put the dish into the oven for 50-60 mins.

What you will end up is delicious goodness that I love best when served with vanilla ice cream. Divine!! Enjoy!!

*Be mindful that gluten free flour blends can contain different flours and different ratios of flours in their blends. If you find your batter is too thick, add a little milk until you get the right consistency. I used Orgran fluten free flour mix in this recipe.

**Edited to add:

You can easily make this recipe dairy free. Replace the butter with Ghee and use almond or rice milk in place of the cow's milk.