Photo Credit: Kristin Perers/The Guardian

Dating back to the early British settlers of North America, cobblers are based on a tradition of baking seasonal fruit and covering it with a sweet, dry scone-like mixture. The result is a cousin to the humble pie, but somehow even more satisfying. Perfect for an early summer barbecue, Claire Ptak’s cobbler makes for a crave-worthy sweet, tart dessert.

Serves 4-6

70g plain flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

100g butter

200g sugar

1 egg yolk

1 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

800g rhubarb, cut into 3 cm by 1 cm batons

1 tbsp cornflour

Zest of 1 orange

2 tsp ginger, grated

1 tsp ground cardamom

Double cream, to serve

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400F. Butter an ovenproof baking dish roughly 20cm in diameter.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and 100g of the sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and bring together into a dough. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, toss the rhubarb in the cornflour. Add the remaining 100g sugar, orange zest, ginger, and cardamom. Transfer the coated fruit into the prepared baking dish. Break up the dough into chunks and drop over the fruit, leaving some gaps. Bake for 45 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling up and the cobbler topping is golden.

Serve warm with cold double cream.

This recipe was published by theguardian.com and amended on February 2, 2016.

Claire Ptak is an author and food stylist and runs Violet Bakery in London. She is the author of the Violet Bakery Cookbook.