Coconut Peach Mango Cobbler

Thinking of the easiest possible desserts, the kind you rush to make at all odd hours to the kitchen, the kind you can make just by rummaging through fridge and kitchen cabinets, and that spell ultimate comfort – yes, fruit cobblers are the first that come to mind.

I usually have some fruit or other sitting in my fridge, waiting to be consumed. My husband is a fruitaholic. He can’t resist buying fruits in bulk so no matter how much we eat, there is always some left in the fridge. I use a lot of fruit in my desserts, make shakes with them and breakfast smoothies with yogurt but cobblers are really my favourite way to clean up the last few lonely pieces of fruit from the fridge.

That’s what I decided to do with a couple mangoes and peaches that looked at me with sad eyes whenever I opened the fridge – make a Coconut Peach Mango Cobbler.
Sounds pretty summery and exotic, right! A whole new tropical twist to a traditional Western recipe.

The addition of coconut was a last minute decision because I wanted a crispier, crunchier pastry crust than the usual cobbler pastry and I think it turned out to be a great idea! Now for the choice of flavouring, you have an interesting array of ingredients to choose from – coconut and tropical fruits pair well with basil, lemon grass, ginger, nuts, allspice, lemon and vanilla. So go ahead, be creative, be adventurous and explore a little. I felt like going with lemon and basil for a completely different flavour profile from the usual Autumn like touch of cinnamon and vanilla.

The aroma started spreading as soon as cobbler was tucked inside the oven and the pan was licked clean soon after it was done. The self-saucing dessert is divine on its own but when paired with ice cream, there really is no comfort food to match it. We chose coconut ice cream to go with it but coconut whipped cream or mango and vanilla ice creams would taste great too.

You can also bake this Mango Cobbler in individual serving bowls.

2 mangoes
2 peaches
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup plain flour
1+1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 tablespoons dry milk powder
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon dried basil or flavour of your choice
5 tablespoons unsalted cold butter
1-2 tablespoons cold water

Preheat oven at 175 degrees C.

Peel and cut mangoes and peaches into bite sized chunks. Discard the stones.

Mix the fruit with lemon juice and brown sugar in a bowl. Set aside.

Mix flour, powdered milk, coconut, sugar, baking powder and dried basil in another bowl. Add cold butter and rub with your fingers to make crumbs. Add a little water, 1 tablespoon, at a time to bring together the loose dry ingredients. The mixture would still be like moist crumbs not cookie dough.

Lightly grease a 8×8 oven proof dish. Pour the fruit with all the juices in the pan. Top it with crumbly pastry mix so that the fruit is completely covered.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or till the top is crispy and golden and the juices from the fruits are bubbling on the sides.

Serve warm with your favourite ice cream flavour.

Serves 4