This recipe began last week when we were having a friend over for dinner. I had my hands full in the kitchen and was searching for a quick dessert that I could throw together with little effort. As I paged through the Pioneer Woman Cookbook, I came across her cobbler recipe that consisted of a batter with fruit on top. It wasn’t the traditional cobbler that I’m familiar with, but I liked the idea. I didn’t have all of the ingredients on hand for the PW recipe, so I just winged it on my own. I had purchased a box of cornbread mix as a breakfast “back-up plan” for our vacation in Cape Cod in June (yes, I do purchase cornbread mix on rare occasions… don’t hate me) which I turned into the batter for the cobbler… I threw in an egg, yogurt, and milk and topped it with fresh blueberries for a no sweat “impromptu cobbler,” as I called it.
It turned out to be much better than I had anticipated, but the fact that I had used a cornbread mix from a box was bugging me. So, I decided to give the cobbler another shot – this time from scratch. I stuck with the cornbread idea, since I was happy with it last time. This time, to jazz it up a bit, I also added some ricotta cheese to the batter. Topped with fresh blueberries and peaches, it resulted in a dense and moist cake/cobbler.
I’m calling this a “coffee cake” because it wasn’t too sweet (which was fine with me!), and I found that it was really great for breakfast with some Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries. It’s equally delicious with a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert, too… If you want it to be a bit sweeter, you can up the sugar to 1/2 a cup. You can even call it a “cobbler” if you like… I don’t mind!
Blueberry Peach Coffee Cake
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup corn meal
- 1/4 cup sugar (use 1/2 cup for a sweeter cake)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 cup peaches, peeled and diced
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 9-inch pie plate (or similarly sized baking dish) with cooking spray and set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl – flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, ricotta cheese, and milk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently combine until all of the dry ingredients have been moistened.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Press the peaches and blueberries down into the top of the batter. Sprinkle with the raw sugar. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes, until the cake is set in the center and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool for about 20 – 25 minutes prior to slicing. Serve warm with ice cream or yogurt and fresh blueberries.
This looks like a perfect treat for any time of day. I love it Jen :)
Love anything with peaches so I’d be all over this.
Good job! I love when you throw something together and it just works out. I agree, I hate using mixes if I don’t have to.
Sorry I haven’t stopped by to comment lately Jen. I was trying to figure out a way to balance life with work and, finally, I’m getting there. It’s good to be back and I can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to :)
Peaches and blueberries are such a delicious combo, great ideas in this coffee cake! I’m always impressed by your ability to improvise.
I’d eat the photo!
Seriously, that is one beautiful looking coffee cake.
Mmm, I want to eat that…
I love it when something you just throw together turns out to be amazing. Yum!!
Well, it’s just gorgeous! And you are so good and coming up with original recipes! I think you are so right…this would be heaven with a little Greek yogurt.
So hungry right now….. ;)
This is just so beautiful Jen – and I love how simple it is. Love the addition of ricotta and the fact that you used corn bread as the base. Moist and dense cakes are the best!
Wow, great job here. Awesome picture too! You should really consider submitting this to Recipe4Living’s Fall Cobbler Recipe Contest – http://www.recipe4living.com/articles/the_fall_cobbler_recipe_contest.htm – It looks delicious!
I enjoyed the cake very much. I had 4 adults and 2 children staying for the weekend. Made this for breakfast on July 4th. The children and 2 of the adults just thought it was ok. They thougt it needed more sugar. My husband and I loved it. Maybe Ill add a bit more sugaar for company next time.
This is a karma! I’ve just started thinking about coffee break and find your coffee cakes :). I really like them! Great job!