Posted on: Wednesday, December 8, 2004

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Go retro with fruit desserts

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

I get more requests for crisps, cobblers and betties than for any other category of school-days recipes. Now this family of Americana fruit desserts, which dates back to colonial times, has been swept up in the restaurant retro trend, as well. But when you order one of these, you never know what you're going to get: anything from a sort of fruited bread pudding to a top-crust pie.

Chef-instructor Daniel Swift of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapi'olani Community College notes that crisp has come to mean just about anything; cobbler too often is a piece of pie dough on some fruit, and betties are almost unknown.

The following definitions combine the expertise of Swift, "Baking Illustrated" by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine (2004), Sharon Herbst's "Food Lover's Companion" (2nd ed., 1995) and the good old "Joy of Cooking" by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker (1964 edition). I've added some cooking tips, too, and recipes on Page F3.

• Cobbler: A cobbler traditionally had a light, slightly wet and sweet biscuit dough atop a fruit filling. Today, a cobbler may also be a one-crust pie —baked fruit topped with pie crust, an egg wash and a sprinkling of sugar. (A pandowdy, by the way, is fruit topped with pie crust, baked, then the crust scored and pressed down slightly to absorb fruit juices.) Tips: Thicken fruit with cornstarch. Add a little lemon juice to perk up flavors. When making a traditional cobbler with biscuit dough, bake fruit briefly first, to help dough cook through both from bottom and top. Bake at 400-425 degrees.

• Crisp: Crisps have streusel-type crumb toppings (and sometimes bottoms and middles, too). Generally, the streusel contains flour, sugar and butter but also possibly rolled oats, nuts, coconut and spices. Tips: Be sure filling isn't too watery; reduce and/or thicken fruit juices (with cornstarch, arrowroot or tapioca — especially if you're starting with frozen fruit, such as blueberries) before adding topping. For apple crisp, Cook's Illustrated testers recommend a mixture of McIntosh and Granny Smith apples.

• Betty: Betties are made with bread crumbs or diced dry bread tossed with melted butter and paired with fruit. A proper betty is made in layers — crumbs, fruit, crumbs, fruit, crumbs. The whole is generally moistened with fruit juice, lemon juice, water and/or a splash of liquor such as sherry or brandy. Tip: Bake the first couple of layers briefly before adding the final layers for better mouth-feel and crunch.

All these desserts should be prepared with a quick, light hand. Don't overcook or drown fruit; keep butter cold; avoid overprocessing batter or streusel. All depend on contrasting textures — soft, silky fruit, crunchy or chewy topping — and a balance of tart to sweet.

Serve these warm with ice cream or at room temperature with whipped cream or hard sauce (a sugar-butter mixture).