A cobbler that gives fruit real support

[Photo/The New York Times]

It's not unusual for a fruit cobbler to be mistaken for a crumble, or a crumble for a crisp, the jammy identity of one bubbling over into the next.

But I'd always thought that cakes, with their firm, sliceable structure, stood apart.

Then one day a friend from Georgia served me a dessert that was, from my frame of reference, inarguably cake. It stood upright without oozing into a puddle. It had a buttery crumb with a melting texture, studded with bits of ripe peach.

"Cobbler," she declared, referring to her grandmother's recipe.

The cobblers I was acquainted with were sloppy and saucy and piled in a bowl. This was a neat square served on a plate, though it had a higher fruit-to cake ratio than most peach cakes.

That's when I learned about a subset of cobbler recipes with cakelike leanings that, my friend said, are popular all over the South.

I could see why. It's blissfully easy. Melt some butter in a (preferably cast iron) skillet, mix together a pancake-type batter in a bowl, toss with fruit and bake.

I got my friend's recipe and proceeded to make a few small adjustments, the most significant of which was instead of simmering the peaches with sugar, I swapped in raw slices. They baked up juicy with a firm yet yielding bite that was not at all mushy. (Keeping the skins on furthered this end.)

I continued tweaking the recipe, using nectarines, which I find more reliably sweet than peaches, and sprinkling on almonds and Demerara sugar for crunch.

Also, instead of merely melting the butter, I let it become brown and toasty to add a caramelized nuttiness to the cake ... or if you must, the cobbler. Call it either one. But with its velvety soft texture, it would never be mistaken for a crisp.