Mango and Blackberry Cobbler

What kind of fruit do you put in cobblers? I tend to use apples and cherries a lot, but will try ti mix it up with different berries from time to time, depending on what’s in season or what frozen berries I have in my freezer that need to be used up. I usually turn to berries by default, but realistically you can put just about any kind of fruit in a cobbler and turning to some fruits that are slightly off the beaten path will make for a great change of pace.

I used a combination of mangos, blackberries and apples in this cobbler. The mangos give it a great tropical twist. If you’re starting with a really ripe, soft mango, it will bake down a lot while it is in the over, so don’t expect to have pieces of mango as firm as the slices of apple in the finished cobber (the apple is added to this cobbler to ensure that the filling has a good texture). Instead, that mango will just lend its juice to a flowery, sweet cobbler base.

The batter for this cobbler is cake-like and a little on the plain side. It isn’t anything special on its own, but it showcases the fruits well. To make sure it got a little flavor of its own, I added vanilla to it and also mixed it up in the same bowl that the fruits marinated in before they were put into the baking dish. This added a hint of fruitiness to the cobbler batter, and had the additional benefit of leaving me with fewer bowls to wash.

Mango and Blackberry Cobbler
16oz fresh blackberries
16-oz fresh mango, cubed
1 medium apple, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375F.
Combine blackberries, mango, apples, cornstarch and sugar in a large bowl. Toss well and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Pour into an 8×8-inch or 9×9-inch square baking dish.
In the same bowl you used for the fruit, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla and whisk to combine. Pour batter (should be similar to cake batter) over the fruit in an even layer.
Bake at 375F for about 45 minutes, until dark golden brown. The center will spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the cake will come out clean, just like a regular cake that is done. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 6-8