KosherEye.com
By Lauren Stacy Berdy
This delicious recipe comes together fast. What makes this cobbler so unique is the rich chocolate crumb topping. It will crisp up in the oven and supply what we love about cobblers - the cooked fruit filling with a crumbly topping.
Chocolate is here in spades. It's in the crumbs and it's laced among the fruit.
I like to really pack my fruit inside the prepared mold so I prepare a dense copious fruit filling. This happens best when the fruit is thinly sliced. The kitchen tool called a mandolin does the thin slicing handily. Speaking of hands just slip a gloved potholder over your slicing hand for safety, if you are at all concerned.
The chocolate crumbs are made with cocoa, almond flour, brown sugar, and olive oil.
I like the citrusy edge of orange with chocolate. I use candied orange in the filling and orange zest in the crumbs. No candied orange? Just double the zest.
The pear filling is packed densely into the mold(s) and the crumbs are liberally distributed. A good cobbler will have juice bubbling over the sides. This one is no different.
I serve individual cobblers. But, don't hesitate to make a family one. It tastes just as divine.
The recipe easily doubles.
Ingredients
Fruit Filling
4 large or 5 medium Bosc pears, cored
¼ cup candied orange peel, finely chopped or the zest of an orange
¼ cup sugar
½ cup chocolate chips
1-tablespoon potato starch
olive oil for the mold
Chocolate Almond Crumbs
3½ tablespoons olive oil
1 cup almond flour (or finely ground almonds)
4 tablespoons potato starch, sifted
½ cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 navel orange, zested
Garnish
unsweetened cocoa powder, sprinkled
Directions
Wash and core the pears. Assemble the mandolin using the thinnest slicing blade over a mixing bowl. Slip on a gloved potholder. Proceed to slice the pears from the bottom up. Quit an inch before the stem. Repeat with the remaining pears.
Add in all the remaining ingredients. Mix with your hands. Set aside.
For the crumbs: pour the olive oil into a mixing bowl. Rub the almond flour (or ground almonds), potato starch, brown sugar, cocoa powder and orange zest with your fingers to form coarse crumbs.
Preheat oven (convection if available) to 350 ºF.
Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
Brush the mold(s) inside with olive oil
Pack the mold(s) densely with the pear filling. Leave a ¼" head room. Spread the chocolate crumbs evenly over the surface of the pears.
Set mold(s) upon prepared baking sheet. Bake in the center of the oven. The cobbler(s) will bubble over a little (it's what you want).
Bake the ½ cup molds about 45 minutes. Bake family-sized for about 1 hour.
Cool to warm. Crumbs will harden as they cool.
Yield: 6 servings (recipe easily doubles)
Notes
Serving:
The cobbler tastes best served warm.
Sprinkle the crumbs with cocoa right before serving.
Note: the cobbler(s) can be baked in the morning and reheated for dinner. Reheat in a warm 325 ºF oven for 20 minutes. Do not serve too hot.
Recipe: Kosher, parve, passover, pesach