Equipment
Ingredients
Peach Filling
- 800 g peaches, pitted and sliced
- 100 g dark brown sugar, packed
- 15 ml lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 2 g ground cinnamon
Buttermilk Batter
- 115 g unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 6 g baking powder
- 3 g kosher salt
- 240 ml buttermilk, room temperature
- 5 ml vanilla extract
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 421 kcal
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbohydrates
- 64 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sugar
- 49 g
- Sodium
- 332 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 9 g
- Trans Fat
- 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 4 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 52 mg
- Potassium
- 816 mg
- Calcium
- 428 mg
- Iron
- 0.7 mg
- Magnesium
- 51 mg
- Phosphorus
- 367 mg
- Zinc
- 2.1 mg
- Vitamin A
- 141 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 33 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.1 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.0 mg
- Vitamin K
- 1 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.3 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 1.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.22 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.51 mg
- Niacin
- 1.0 mg
- Folate
- 20 mcg
- Water
- 95 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Place an empty 10-inch cast iron skillet inside the oven as it preheats.
In a mixing bowl, toss the sliced peaches with the dark brown sugar, lemon juice, and ground cinnamon. Let the mixture sit to macerate and release its juices while you prepare the batter.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and kosher salt.
Pour the room temperature buttermilk and vanilla extract into the dry ingredients. Whisk gently until just combined. The batter will be slightly thick and lumpy; do not overmix.
Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Add the unsalted butter and swirl it in the pan. The residual heat should melt and lightly brown the butter, emitting a nutty aroma. If it does not brown, place it on the stovetop over medium heat for 2 minutes until the milk solids turn golden.
Pour the buttermilk batter directly over the melted brown butter in the skillet. Do not stir the batter into the butter.
Using a slotted spoon, distribute the macerated peaches evenly over the top of the batter. Finally, pour about half of the accumulated peach juices from the bowl over the fruit. Discard the remaining juice to prevent a soggy cobbler. Do not stir.
Bake in the preheated oven at 190C/375F for 40 to 45 minutes. The batter will rise up and around the peaches, absorbing the brown butter and developing a golden brown crust.
Remove the skillet from the oven and allow the cobbler to rest and cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. This allows the hot fruit juices to thicken slightly.
Chef's Notes
- The magic of this Southern-style cobbler relies on the strict rule of no stirring. Pouring the batter over the butter, and the fruit over the batter, allows the layers to invert magically in the oven as the baking powder activates.
- Browning the butter in the cast iron skillet before adding the batter imparts a complex, toasted hazelnut flavor that perfectly complements the sweetness of the peaches.
- Buttermilk provides a necessary tang that cuts through the rich butter and sweet fruit. If you do not have buttermilk, use kefir or a homemade soured milk alternative, but avoid using straight sweet milk as it lacks the acidity needed for a tender crumb.
- If your peaches are exceptionally sweet, reduce the dark brown sugar in the peach mixture to 75g to maintain a balanced flavor profile.
Storage
Refrigerator: 4 days — Cover tightly. The crust will soften significantly in the refrigerator.
Reheating: Reheat individual portions in a 175C/350F oven for 10 minutes to restore some crispness, or microwave for 30 seconds for a softer texture.
Troubleshooting
The cake layer is gummy or underbaked in the center
Cause: Too much peach juice was added to the skillet, or the oven temperature was too low.
Fix: Cover the edges of the skillet with foil to prevent burning and return the cobbler to the oven for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Prevention: Only add half of the macerated peach juices to the skillet, and ensure your oven is properly calibrated.
The top crust is overly dark but the fruit is still hard
Cause: Unripe peaches were used, requiring a longer bake time than the batter.
Fix: Tent the skillet loosely with aluminum foil to halt browning while the fruit continues to steam and soften in the oven.
Prevention: Use ripe, slightly yielding peaches. If using firm peaches, briefly saute them in a pan before assembling the cobbler.
Cultural Context
The American Southern cobbler is a hallmark of summer harvest preservation, evolving from early colonial deep-dish fruit pies. Unlike the biscuit-topped variations found in the North, this specific technique of pouring wet batter over melted butter creates a self-saucing, inverted cake that crisps on the edges while remaining pudding-like in the center. Baking it in a cast iron skillet is a nod to its rustic, frontier origins where one-pot cooking was essential.
