Fresh Peach Cobbler with Brown Butter and Buttermilk Biscuits

Method

1. Set up at a fire pit with a bucket of water, heatproof gloves, long tongs and a lid lifter at hand, and keep the butter for the biscuits frozen in the coldest part of the cooler. Light 24 charcoal briquettes in a chimney starter and wait 20 min, until they are covered in grey ash. Never use charcoal in a tent or under an awning.

2. Meanwhile bring a pot of water to a boil on the camp stove over high heat. Cut a small X in the base of each peach, lower them in for 1 min, then lift them into cold water; the skins will now slip off easily. Cut the peaches into 1.5 cm wedges, discarding the stones, and toss them in a bowl with the brown sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch and salt. Leave for 10 minutes so they release their juice.

   Add in this stepRipe fresh peaches (about 150 g each) 3Brown sugar 35 gLemon juice 1 tbspVanilla extract ½ tspGround cinnamon ½ tspGround nutmeg 1 pinchCornstarch 2½ tspSalt 1 pinch

   high heat

3. With tongs, spread about a third of the hot coals into a flat bed and set a 20 cm Dutch oven on it (charcoal (medium heat)). Add part of the butter (the rest stays frozen for the biscuits), let it melt, then cook for 3 min, swirling the pot with gloves on, until the foam turns golden, brown specks appear on the bottom and it smells like toasted nuts. Tip in the peaches with all their juice and stir; cook for 5 min, stirring now and then, until the juices bubble and turn thick and glossy. Pre-cooking the filling stops fresh peaches from going watery.

   Add in this stepButter (keep part of it frozen) 30 g

   charcoal (medium heat)

4. For the biscuits, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Grate the frozen butter straight in on the coarse side of a grater and toss it through with your fingers. Pour in most of the buttermilk and stir with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms. Tip onto a floured board, pat into a rectangle 2 cm thick, fold it in half, pat out again and fold once more; these folds create flaky layers. Pat to 2 cm and cut into 6 squares with a floured knife.

   Add in this stepPlain flour 130 gSugar 20 gBaking powder 1½ tspSalt 1 pinchButter (keep part of it frozen) 55 gButtermilk (or milk with 1 tsp lemon juice per 100 ml) 86 ml

5. Lift the pot off the coal bed and arrange 4 + 12 hot briquettes (bottom + lid), the bottom ones in a ring just inside the edge of the pot; the filling is already hot, so most of the heat goes on top to brown the biscuits. Set the pot on the coals, lay the biscuits on the bubbling peaches with gaps between them, brush the tops with the remaining buttermilk and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Cover, load the lid with coals and bake for 22 min over charcoal (medium heat), turning the pot and lid a quarter turn in opposite directions every 10 minutes. The biscuits are done when tall, deep golden and dry inside when one is broken open.

   Add in this stepButtermilk (or milk with 1 tsp lemon juice per 100 ml) 9.5 mlCoarse brown sugar (demerara) 2 tsp

   charcoal (medium heat)

6. Brush the lid coals into the fire pit, move the pot with gloves onto a flat stone or heatproof trivet and rest it with the lid ajar for 10 min. Serve warm; a little cold cream poured over is lovely if you brought some. Keep children away from the hot cast iron, and drown the coals with water before you leave.