This wonderful dessert comes out great when you make it in the crockpot. The juicy rhubarb and strawberry mixture is complemented with lemon juice and sugar and the batter sets on top to make a heavenly crumbly topping which contrasts nicely with the fruity layer. Cobbler is famous in the UK as well as in the US and it is made by combining a hot fruit filling with pastry dough. Cobbler is usually oven-baked but it comes out beautifully in the crockpot too. There are different types of cobbler to choose from and names include the Slump, the Grunt, the Betty, the Sonker, and the Buckle. Crumbles and crisps are different from cobblers because cobbler usually has an oatmeal-based top layer.
Slumps, Grunts and Pandowdy come from New England and these are usually made in an iron pan or skillet in the oven, or on the stove. They “grunt” while they cook, which is where they get their name. Buckles are made with a cake-like, yellow batter and the filling and batter are combined. Sonkers are from North Carolina. A lot of cobblers in the Deep South are made with just one fruit variety, like blueberry, blackberry or peach and sometimes vanilla ice cream is served with the cobbler.
One-fruit cobblers are nice but so are those made with two or three different fruits combined. The following recipe combines rhubarb with strawberries and the crumbly top comes out really well in the slow cooker. You can serve this dessert hot, chilled, or warm and you might like to serve some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream with it, although that is optional.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups sliced rhubarb
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cups sliced strawberries
- ¾ cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cold butter
- ½ cup Half & Half or milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine the sugar, water, fruit, and lemon juice in the crockpot.
- Cover and cook for 4 or 5 hours on low.
- Combine the cornstarch with enough cold water to make a smooth paste, and then stir this into the fruit mixture.
- Blend the flour, baking powder, and salt and cut in the butter until the mixture is grainy.
- Stir in the milk until it is just moist.
- Drop small amounts of this batter over the fruit mixture.
- Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
This wonderful dessert comes out perfectly in the slow cooker and the sweet fruit mixture contrasts beautifully with the mouthwatering crumbly topping. This dessert is really tasty and the whole family will enjoy it. It might even be a good choice if you have friends or family coming to dinner and you want to make a big dessert for everyone to share. If you have a lot of fruit to use up, making a fruit cobbler is a great idea and if you have a crockpot, making slow cooked fruit cobbler is an even better idea! Serve it with cream, like in the photo, or with your favorite flavor of ice cream.
