After reading the title, I envisioned a dessert with a toasty biscuit top and a pie-like bottom. However, I ended up with soft, airy and sweet dumplings on top of juice and chunks of fruit. Being wrong, in this case, was a delicious surprise. The addition of wine to the fruit really enhanced the flavor over all. Also, the dumplings held up well in spite of the high liquidity of the fruit.
The other favorable thing about this recipe is that it requires very little time to prepare.
Peach and Blackberry Dumplings
courtesy of From the Earth to the Table Cookbook
Ingredients/Dumplings
1/2 cup buttermilk (or a little more if needed)
1 egg, separated
1 tbs melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp sugar
1 cup flour
Ingredients/Fruit Bottom
1 cup fresh blueberries or blackberries
4 cups peeled and sliced peaches
1 1/4 cups fruity white wine
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
To make the batter, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and 2 tsp of sugar and set aside.
In a small bowl, beat the egg white to a soft peak consistency. Set it aside also.
Then, using another bowl, stir together the egg yolk, melted butter and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk until completely blended together. Pour the flour mixture into the batter and mix until no more flour streaks remain. The batter should now be like a drop biscuit dough. If it seems too dry, add more buttermilk in teaspoon quantities until the right consistency is achieved. Lastly, fold the egg white into the batter and set aside.
For the fruit bottom, fill a 4 quart pan (also need to have a lid) with the sugar, ginger, cinnamon and wine. Stir all ingredients and place pan over medium high heat. Bring mixture to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Add the fruit and cook, uncovered, for three minutes.
Then, take the dough and drop by spoonfuls on top of the cooking fruit. Cover the pan with the lid and set timer for 8 minutes. After eight minutes, check to see if dumplings are firm. If not cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve warm. This also can be served with whipped cream or ice cream on top. Enjoy!
