That morning I mentioned in the last post; cold, drizzly and where I HAD to make a curry dish I saw posted on a blog cause I thought it looked warm? Truth? Also HAD to make a pandowdy that my friend Elle posted that she had adapted from The New England Cookbook. Why oh why when I have company coming do I decide to add one more thing to my list?
Well, I say why not? Simple is hardly simple enough to describe this dish. I had just spied a large container of blackberries in the fridge that morning and remember thinking ‘I have got to remember to do something with those suckers’ when I saw Elle’s post within the hour and knew it was perfect. It needed a lot of fruit and it was lightning quick to prepare. And some days I just love being taken back to New England…err, I mean North Carolina! If you’ve never been, North Carolina would hardly have you imagining New England…but if you recall, it was one of the original colonies and there are a lot of influences in Virginia and the Carolinas that bear fruit from states further north. Heck, when I lived there, not just the food bore similarities but Cape Cod style houses were everywhere! Sadly oysters and shrimp were more typical than lobster…but I digress!
Dishes like this were standard fare at neighborhood gatherings…and always came with a wide variety of funny names. Pandowdy, grunt, crumble, crisp or clafouti; they are all a blend of fruit and dough, whether rolled out or crumbled on top before baking.
Pandowdy is typically finished with a pie dough crust…and that might not have inspired me as much as this version which was a quick mixture that is spread on top. I mean, how easy can you get? I’ve included Elle’s beautiful picture of her Mixed Berry Pandowdy; be sure to visit her blog for her take and to see her great collection of both classic and traditional New England dishes! For this, she used a combination of fresh and frozen fruits so all that fruit you get this summer…freeze it for your fall and winter pandowdy’s!
BlackBerry Pandowdy
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 cups blackberries (or other berries, fresh or frozen, or sliced and peeled apples)
- 3 tbsp maple syrup (please, please do use real maple syrup)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Preparation
- Heat the oven to 350
- Lightly grease a shallow 2 quart baking dish
- Pour the berries (or arrange apples) in the baking dish and drizzle with the maple syrup
- Sprinkle the cinnamon and nutmeg over the fruit–toss to combine
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes.
**For tender blackberries, this was perfect, adjust if you’re using frozen berries or apples and increase baking time to 20-25 minutes. - While they’re in the oven, whisk the rest of the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Immediately prior to removing the pan from the oven, whisk the milk and egg in a smaller bowl, then stir in the melted butter and extracts.
- Stir the wet mixture into the dry, remove that pan from the over and pour the batter over the berries, spreading out gently with a rubber spatula.
- Return it to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. It should be lightly golden brown and a tester should come out clean.
Cool for a bit and serve warm. Perfect as is or topped with either whipped cream or ice cream.
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
That looks so tasty Barb! My nana used to make a similar thing though I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called. YUM!
How about a grunt then slump? Sorry, couldn’t resist. ;)
And yes, made me laugh…but sounds like a plan. I went to find out what pandowdy meant to see if there was some sort of historical reason for that name and all that I found was that it was a mixture of fruit and dough. Uh, OK.
Mmmm I love blackberries! I saw this over on Elle’s blog and fell in love and now you are pushing it under my nose. I have been looking for more summer berry recipes and this is on my list. Although I may just call it a grunt….
Don’t you just love those crazy names…clafouti is trendier but not much different…so let’s grunt!
No matter how you call it, it looks gorgeous, so inviting with all that thick layer of fruits in the bottom! Simply delicious!
It looks wonderful! And makes me want to make it again this weekend. Thanks for the shout out!
You make the most tempting comfort food. I love it. Major Yum!
Thanks Ken…and this is so easy. I love it’s not overly sweet; the fruit is the star!