Greengage and Almond Cobbler

This autumn we have been besieged by stone fruit.  First a colleague of the Ewing very kindly bought us some Cambridge gages from the Cotswolds, then we spent the Bank Holiday Monday stocking up on  plums at Millet's PYO farm just outside Abingdon, and finally we have been foraging in the woods, along with my Dad and a borrowed dog, for sloes and damsons.

Apart from the obligatory 'stick them in a bottle with some sugar and gin and leave them until Christmas' (an approach that never fails) the Ewing's been, poaching them with a little sugar and cinnamon, to eat along with her granola and oats in the morning.  All very wholesome, but I prefer my stewed fruit served hot, preferably with a crisp, buttery topping and lashings of custard.

Although it's hard to go wrong with a good old crumble I thought I'd try something a bit different with the pile of greengages that were feeling somewhat sorry for themselves in the fruit bowl.  As I didn't have any eggs in the house this cobbler recipe was perfect. (although it did mean using up the rest of the Ewing's yogurt; leaving her with the leftovers of this for breakfast, instead of her usual, more virtuous option)

The recipe was adapted slightly from the BBC website. I halved the amount of cobbler mixture, which made the perfect amount for 3/4 portions, and used greengages instead of purple plums.  Hot, crumbly, sticky, sweet and tart.  The perfect pud.

Greengage and Almond Cobbler

12/15 ripe greengages, stoned and halved (or use plums)
100g golden caster sugar

1 tbsp plain flour
1 cinnamon stick

zest and juice 2 oranges

30g ground almonds
150g self-raising flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
45g cold butter, cut into cubes
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
75g pot natural yogurt (full or low-fat)
2 tbsp double cream
handful flaked almonds

Double cream, ice cream or custard to serve

Heat oven to 200C.

Mix  together plums, sugar and 1 tbsp flour a small baking dish. Splash over the orange juice, add cinnamon stick, cover with foil, then bake for 20 mins until the fruit has softened.
Mix the ground almonds, zest and flour with the salt and baking powder in a food processor, then whizz in the butter until it disappears.

Mix in the sugar, tip into a large bowl, then make a well in the middle.

Warm the yogurt, milk and vanilla together in the microwave for 30 seconds; it should be hot and may well go a bit lumpy-looking.

Tip yogurt into the bowl and quickly work into the flour mix using a cutlery knife. Don't overwork the dough or it may become tough. The mix should be stiffish but spoonable.
Take the plums from the oven, uncover, then top with spoonfuls of batter.

Scatter with flaked almonds and a little sugar. Bake for 30-35 mins until topping is golden. 

Serve hot with plenty of cream, ice cream or custard