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Meme's Blackberry Cobbler

This delicious cobbler recipe is courtesy of Virginia Willis and can be found in her cookbook, "Bon Appetit, Y'all."
The Martha Stewart Show, July Summer 2008
  • Yield Serves 6 to 8
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 4 cups fresh blackberries
  • 1 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • Pinch of fine sea salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream, for serving

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Melt butter in a large cast-iron skillet or ovenproof baking dish, in the oven, 5 to 7 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, place blackberries in a large bowl. Using a potato masher, mash blackberries to release their juices. If blackberries are tart, sprinkle with sugar.
  4. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add 1 cup sugar, milk, and vanilla extract; mix until well combined. Remove skillet from oven and add melted butter to flour mixture; stir to combine. Pour mixture into skillet and pour blackberries and their juices into the center.
  5. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the batter comes out clean, about 1 hour. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream.

Recipe Reviews

  • STLKate
    26 Jul, 2011

    Delicious and simple! I have made this cobbler a few times and it always wins rave reviews. It is beautifully rustic, but most importantly tastes divine.

  • bailebri
    17 Jul, 2011

    This is the WORST cobbler recipe I have ever followed in my life. I would never ever ever EVER make it again. It took longer than an hour to cook and it turned out horribly - without the nice cobbler top and more like a giant berry pudding cake. I would not recommend this to anyone ever. I threw it all away after the first taste.

  • SigridS
    22 Jun, 2011

    This is the most amazing cobbler I have ever made. It is juicy, fruity, and has just the right amount of cake. It is a huge hit with my family. Last time I didn't have enough blackberries and added some skinned, fresh peaches. It is a great recipe to experiment with different fruit combinations with. Love it!

  • krisx2
    7 Sep, 2008

    This was a delicious way to enjoy all our fresh picked blackberries. I served it with vanilla ice cream, and the whole family enjoyed it. I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet, and I wouldn't go any bigger unless you increase the recipe proportionally.

  • mmau
    22 Aug, 2008

    Sorry so long to answer Anniekac. I remembered you asked the size of the skillet and I measured it one day.... then I forgot to get back here with the report. This recipe fit perfectly in my 10 inch cast iron. I think 12 would be much too large, though if you used a different fruit......perhaps.... but I would make more batter for a 12 inch. It's a great recipe.

  • akfriendanch
    6 Aug, 2008

    I've made this recipe twice since the show aired - once for family and another tme for our neighbors. Everyone enjoyed it! Served the cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream - delicious! I had lost my grandma's recipe and this is it , or quite close - love the mouthwatering sweet juxtaposed with a bit of tartness. Thanks Martha and Meme!

  • brownlamb
    4 Aug, 2008

    Anniekac, Virginia Willis did not mention a size of skillet, but did recommend a 9 X 13 glass dish/Pyrex as an alternative, so that may help you determine the size cast iron skillet you'd want to use (10 or 12 in., I'd think.) Hope that helps.

  • Anniekac
    3 Aug, 2008

    Does anyone know what size of skillet? It just says "large". I want to try this, but need to buy a cast iron skillet first and I want it to come out perfect! Thanks.

  • CHEFCAB
    1 Aug, 2008

    I've used this recipe twice since I saw it made on Martha's show last week. Last week I made it. Although I only had about two cups of blackberries, it still came out great. Yesterday I used 4 cups of peaches instead of blackberries and it's delicious. I love this recipe.

  • mmau
    31 Jul, 2008

    I did it out on the grill. It did work very well. You have to know your grill well, I waited a just a bit too long to move it to the side for indirect heating, and got a bit of scorching at the sides. But let me just say that it was great. Easy as pie and better than most cobbler recipes. I got some very tasty Driscoll organic blackberries - they were so good, I was somewhat hesitant to experiment with them on the grill. Everyone pronounced it delicious and asked when I would make the next one.

  • kerriemac
    31 Jul, 2008

    I made this beautiful desert yesterday. It was really delicious. I watched Martha last week and saw this being made. My husband then came home with wild blackberrys. I immediatly knew what I was going to do. It looked like something I had bought from a bakery. Served it warm with vanilla ice cream. My family was very impressed. ( And it was so simple to prepare) Thanks Martha !!

  • Yellowhouse
    28 Jul, 2008

    This is an amazing recipe... I used 16oz of fresh blueberries instead of the blackberries and they worked perfectly. The crust is delicious, and it's very very easy to prepare!

  • carladfw
    26 Jul, 2008

    I made the recipe using a mix of peaches, blueberries and strawberries that I had on hand. A really good and EASY recipe. I didn't put any of the batter on top before baking and it did end up on top, just like it did on TV.

  • animalloverjan
    25 Jul, 2008

    This certainly looks like an easy, delicious recipe. I have lots of beautiful blackberries in my freezer and have been looking for a recioe like this one to use some of them. The weather will be cool this weekend so I will bake some. Can hardly wait to taste.

  • mmau
    25 Jul, 2008

    Hi Howdyholly5- I believe Virginia said it would come up the sides while baking and cover up some of the berries.
    Let us know how it comes out, and what happens to the batter.
    I bet it's delicious no matter.

  • Howdyholly5
    25 Jul, 2008

    I just put it in the oven having used frozen berries. I know it is not the most preferable, but it was so easy! I don't know how it's going to taste yet, but I did sneak a bite of the batter and it was heavenly! The one question I have is do you put some of the batter on top of the berries or do you just dump them into the middle of the batter? It looked like there was batter on the top during the TV show.

  • mmau
    24 Jul, 2008

    This sure looked good on the show today. So very simple too. After years of trying many recipes for the same type of thing it usually turns out that simple will be best.
    I am wondering how this will do if I try it on the grill out back. It's way too hot (here down South) to think about "baking" for an hour indoors.
    The fact that it is made in an iron skillet makes me think it will be great for the grill.

  • quelch
    24 Jul, 2008

    Can you use frozen beries in place of fresh? Thanks!

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