Wild Berry Cob-Cake

Red Ras, Black Ras, Blackberry, Dew—all these berries taste oh so good!

There is nothing like the taste of wild berries. Although they are smaller than commercially grown varieties, they are sooo much sweeter!

Most summer mornings, you can find me roaming along fence rows, battling the thorns and greedy birds as I gather buckets full of berries. Generous Mother Nature has blessed our property with four varieties of editable berries. All grow on thorny bushes with long trailing canes and ripen from June through August. Wild red and black raspberries are small, up to ½”, and round. Blackberries are larger, up to 1”, and oblong shaped. Dewberries are much larger than the other berries and have fewer fruit pockets. All varieties are sweet and tasty in their own way, and can be used in just about any fruit recipe.

I know that some of you are reluctant to use wild berries in dishes simply because they are seedy. Get over it! A few crunchy, itty bitty little seeds never hurt anyone, and contrary to popular myth, the seeds will not sprout in your stomach and grow out your belly button.

Wild Berry Cob-Cake

This is a curious old recipe that claims to be a cobbler, but bakes up more like a cake. This unique dish is my usual summer pitch-in contribution and always seems to be the most popular dessert at the picnic.

For the batter, gather up the following:

½ cup real butter

1 cup flour

½ cup cane sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

¾ cup whole milk

 Preheat oven to 350º. Melt butter in an 8x8” baking pan. In a separate bowl, mix well flour, sugar, baking powder, and milk. Pour mixture over slightly cooled butter. DO NOT MIX TOGETHER.

For the filling, gather up the following:

2-ish cups of freshly picked, unrinsed berries (If you must, very gently brush off any minuscule bugs and debris, but don’t wash away that sweet juice!)

¾ cup cane sugar

2 tablespoons flour

Very gently mix berries, sugar, and flour together. Spoon berries on top of batter. DO NOT MIX TOGETHER. Bake at 350º for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown. As it bakes, the batter will rise, forming a beautiful crust over the berries.

Allow to cool then serve with homemade ice cream!

Yes, healthoholics can substitute ingredients with (chemically-made) margarine, (watered-downed) low-fat milk, and artificial sweetener, but you will be sacrificing flavor and substance. Embrace the gifts of nature! There’s nothing like the real thing!