Plum and Cream Scone Cobbler

Summary
Prep time	30 min
Cook time	40-45 min @ 400°
Source	SmittenKitchen.com
Yield / serves	8 servings
Rating	(unrated)

Ingredients

Fruit

• 2 1/2 pounds unpitted fresh, ripe plums, any variety, or other stone fruit
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup granulated sugar (see Note)
• 4 tablespoons cornstarch or 3 tablespoons tapioca flour/starch

Scone topping

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for counter
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream, divided
• 1 tablespoon coarse or turbinado sugar

Preparation

Heat oven to 400°F. Halve and pit plums, then cut fruit into 1/2-inch slices. Place in a 9×13 or equivalently sized baking dish, then add lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch and stir to combine.

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.