Apple and Blueberry Cobbler

Although I love testing new recipes, there are many dishes I have been cooking for years, and this Apple and Blueberry Cobbler is just one of these. When I made it for the first time, it was already so popular that my husband and brother almost chased each other to the kitchen the next day to have the leftovers for breakfast. And still now when I make it for guests, everybody loves it and it is finished in no time.

Another advantage of this easy dessert is that both fruit and batter (all ingredients but milk) can be prepared in advance (even a day ahead). And then approx. 45 minutes before you would like to serve this incredible dish (for me it is usually when I finish up preparing the main meal), you warm up your oven, add milk to the batter and arrange everything in the dish. And just when your guests are ready for dessert, your just-baked dessert is ready to be served, too.

INGREDIENTS (for 6 portions):

4 apples (approx. 600g), peeled, cored and sliced,

1 tbsp butter (plus extra for greasing),

250g blueberries (or mixture of blueberries and raspberries,) fresh or frozen,

25g sugar,

250g mascarpone cheese,

200g plain flour,

1.5 tsp baking powder,

80g butter, cut into pieces,

50g sugar,

1 lemon (finely grated zest only),

150ml milk.

METHOD:

1. Melt 1 tbsp of butter, add the sliced apples and fry them on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the blueberries and sugar, fry for 2 minutes and put aside to cool down. If the apples you use are sour, you may want to add more sugar.
3. Grease an ovenproof dish (I used a round one, 23 cm diameter) and transfer the prepared fruit to the dish.  
4. Put the flour and the baking powder to a bowl, add the butter pieces and with your fingers combine them together till the mixture resembles fine crumbs.
5. Stir in the sugar and lemon zest. If you are preparing this dessert in advance, you would continue with the next steps approx. 45 min. before you would like to serve it.
6. Preheat an oven to 200 Celsius degrees (180 degrees for fan ovens).
7. Add the milk to the dry mixture and stir with a spoon until everything is combined.
8. Using two teaspoons put the mascarpone on top of the fruit, and then the same way spoon the prepared batter on top of the mascarpone (the layers don’t have to be smoothened as mascarpone will melt in the oven and the batter will rise).
9. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
10. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.