Homemade Mixed Berry Cobbler
This mixed berry cobbler is an easy and delicious dessert for your backyard barbecues this summer. Serve it with homemade ice cream for a creamy and refreshing sweet treat.
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My friends, can you believe it? It’s almost 4th of July.
This year, more than any other has just continued to shock me as it flies by. We are now entering the best parts of summer. Hot days, short nights, camping trips, and backyard barbecues. I love it!
And today, I’ve got just the treat for your July 4th potlucks. Along with your pasta salad, potato salad, and grilled pizza, it’s a refreshing and zesty mixed berry cobbler. Filled with blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries and topped with a sweet cobbler crust, this dessert is one of the best ways to celebrate the heart of summer.
Let’s dive right into this delicious summery recipe.
Difference between a cobbler, crisps, and crumbles
A few years ago I thought the words were largely synonymous with each other; perhaps just regional variations of one another. But, as I culinary school graduate, a professional baker, and food blogger, people expect you to know things about food and after saying, “I don’t know” a few too many times, I decided it was time to do a little internet pastry research.
This is what I found out:
All three desserts are similar – a dessert containing fresh fruit, sugared and baked, then topped with a type of pastry. Like pie, all three desserts bake until the juices of the fruit begin to bubble up and create the thick, syrupy fruit filling we are all familiar with. Sounds about right. So what’s the difference?
Crisps and Crumbles:
These desserts may be interchangeable depending on the region but it seems like there is one simple difference: crisps are topped with a streusel that contains oats whereas crumble’s streusel does not.
Cobblers:
Cobblers are topped with sweet drop biscuit that rises when cooked, creating the look of a cobbled road. (see: picture below)
The difference, my friends, is in the toppings.
How to make a mixed berry cobbler
Good news, friends. Cobblers are one of the easiest desserts to make. It’s a matter of macerating the fruit and making a sweet biscuit topping to drop over the berries. So easy!
Step One – Macerate the berries
Macerating berries is a method of letting the berries sit in a fine coating of granulated sugar. The process of adding sugar enhances their natural sweetness and flavor as well as creates a thin berry syrup that, when cooked, becomes thick and compote-like. This method is used in most fruit pies, crisps, and cobblers.
To macerate the berries, simply sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar over the top. Gently toss to coat and let the berries sit for at least 30 minutes (longer is fine) until the juices have been released into a light berry syrup. For this recipe, I also add cornstarch along with the sugar to help thicken the syrup when baking.
Step two – Make the drop biscuit
To make the drop biscuit, combine the flour, remaining two tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Add the butter in small cubes and mix it in with the dough using your fingers until small pea-sized pieces have formed. Then add non-dairy milk and stir together until a stiff dough has formed.
(A word on vegan butter)
As always, when working with such few ingredients, it’s important that we use the highest quality. For that reason, I suggest using Miyoko’s cultured vegan butter for this recipe. This award-winning vegan butter is truly the best vegan butter on the market. Its taste and texture is identical to dairy-based butter and will give you the complete melt-in-your-mouth feel of these cookies.
If you can’t find Miyoko’s butter at your local grocery stores, I would suggest Earth Balance as the next best alternative. Or you could just pick up a copy of her cookbook, and make your own incredible vegan butter.
Step three – Assemble and bake
Transfer the frozen berry to a large cast iron skillet (or any casserole dish will do). Drop pieces of dough onto the berry mixer so that it is mostly covered with a large piece of dough resembling a cobbled road.
Bake the mixed berry cobbler until the berries are bubbling up and the dough is golden brown. Then thirty minutes later:
A delicious and refreshing mixed berry cobbler.
Serving and storing Mixed Berry Cobbler
- Let the cobbler set for at least 20 minutes out of the oven. This gives the syrup time to cool and thicken into a nice berry compote.
- Serve the cobbler with coconut whipped cream or your favorite non-dairy ice cream.
- Enjoy alongside your favorite summer bbq recipes.
- Leftover cobbler can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
How to make this berry cobbler in advance
If you want to prepare this mixed berry cobbler in advance but don’t want soggy biscuits, you can prepare the filling and fruit separately. Instead of layering the biscuit over the fruit, add it to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown. Bake the filling as well, according to the recipe instructions. Once out of the oven, let the cobbler and biscuit cool completely before storing. The fruit can be covered and stored in the refrigerator. The topping should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
When ready to serve, add the topping to the cooked berries and gently reheat at 350F until heated all the way through. This will help combine the layers and crisp up the topping before serving.
This mixed berry cobbler is one of my favorites and I think you’re going to love it, too! So let’s celebrate this 4th of July with friends, food, fireworks, and definitely this mixed berry cobbler. Easy to throw together, sweet and buttery, and celebrating the flavors of the season, let’s bake.
Happy July 4th weekend, friends!
This mixed berry cobbler is an easy and delicious dessert for your backyard barbecues this summer. Serve it with homemade ice cream for a creamy and refreshing sweet treat.
Cuisine: Vegan
Keyword: Berry Cobbler
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 223 kcal
Author: Sarah McMinn
- 20 ounces frozen mixed berries
- 1/4 + 2 tbsp cup granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
- juice of 1 small lemon
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, (I use Miyoko's)
- 2 tbsp non-dairy milk, I use macadamia nut milk but any non-dairy milk will do
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Spray a 6" cast iron skillet with oil and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine frozen berries, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Stir together and set aside while making the dough.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter in small cubes and mix it in with the dough using your fingers until small pea-sized pieces have formed. Add non-dairy milk and stir together until a stiff dough has formed. You may need to add a little more milk. If so, add it 1-2 teaspoons at a time.
Transfer frozen berry mixture to prepared skillet. Drop pieces of dough onto the berry mixer so that it is mostly covered with a large piece of dough.
Bake for 30 minutes, uncovered until the berries are bubbling up and the dough is golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 20 minutes before serving.
Serve with non-dairy ice cream of your choice.
Trinity says
You do know most refined sugar goes through a bone char filter and thus makes it non-vegan
Sarah says
Not all granulated sugar goes through bone char. Here’s an article that helps explain what sugars are and aren’t vegan.
Lisa says
Really excellent. Baked it in a casserole dish because I don’t have a cast iron. My family loved it. Thank you!
Corinne says
Would it cook the same with GF flour, I was thinking almond flour or chickpea flour or Red Mills GF flour?
Sarah says
I would use Bob’s Red Mill GF flour mix- that should work fine
Freddie says
what can be substituted for the cast iron skillet?
can I use fresh berries instead of frozen? Is there any adjustment to be made?
Thanks.
Sarah says
Any oven-safe skillet should do. As far as fresh, that should be fine. You may not need to bake it quite as long in that case.
MAE says
Where does the 2tbsp sugar go?
Sarah says
Sorry that wasn’t very clear. I edited the recipe to make it clearer. The sugar goes in with the flour and baking powder in step 3
Lorie Garcia says
I made this today. It is delicious. This is the third recipe of yours I have made. They have all turned out full of flavor. Thank you!
Sarah says
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing.