Apricot and Sweet Cherry Pandowdy Recipe
By
Kate Ramos
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Perhaps the odd name of this dessert is what has kept it off the radar of most home cooks, but it’s perfect for bakers who lack confidence, because you break up the crust halfway through baking! This version combines apricots and sweet cherries and nestles them under an almond crust for a marzipanlike flavor, with an anything-but-dowdy outcome.
Game plan: The dough can be made up to a day in advance and refrigerated until ready to use. Let it rest at room temperature while preparing the fruit, then roll it out.
This recipe was featured as part of our Summer Fruit Desserts recipe slideshow.
INGREDIENTS
For the dough:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 ounces slivered, blanched almonds
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into small pieces
- 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
For the filling:
- 3 cups pitted and halved apricots (about 1 pound)
- 3 cups pitted Bing cherries (about 15 ounces)
- 1/8 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/4 stick), cut into small pieces
INSTRUCTIONS
For the dough:
- Combine the sugar and almonds in a food processor and pulse to a fine powder, about 20 (1-second) pulses. Whisk together the almond mixture, measured flour, and salt in a large bowl until evenly combined. (Check out our Tips for the Perfect Pie Crust for pointers.)
- Using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is in pea-size pieces, about 3 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of the ice water and the almond extract and mix until the dough just comes together. (Add the last tablespoon of ice water if necessary, but do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.)
- Shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling out.
For the filling:
- Once the dough has rested, toss the fruit with the salt, lemon zest, and brown sugar in a large bowl until the fruit is well coated. Pour into a shallow 2-quart baking dish and dot the fruit mixture with the butter.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator, place it on a lightly floured surface, and roll it out to 1/4-inch thickness (it should be large enough to fit over the baking dish with a 1/2-inch overhang on all sides). Top the fruit mixture with the dough and tuck the edges into the dish.
To bake:
- Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
- Bake the pandowdy until the top has browned slightly and is crispy, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350°F.
- With a knife, score 2-inch squares in the crust. Spoon fruit juice from the baking dish over the top, then push the squares down slightly with the back of the spoon. Return the dish to the oven and bake until the fruit is tender and the pastry is browned on the edges and flaky, about 25 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes and serve.
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Deborah from CHOW
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Pan Dowdy holds a special place in my heart. When my Mother was alive we would go to lunch at a restaurant in PGH. PA. We always ordered pan dowdy for lunch. It would come piping hot with a big ole scoop of home made ice cream. Every bite was sheer ecstasy. That was really not the most important thing in that restaurant back in those days, the wonderful hours that we spent talking and laughing were what was really important. I love my mother and I sruely love pan dowdy. I miss my Mother very much, she was and still is my best friend.
MobyRichard: This technique is key to the pandowdy -- by letting the crust bake undisturbed, it gets to set up a bit before getting in with those juices. You then break up shards of dough so part of each shard crisps up while the other part gets syrupy from the juice. If you were to put pieces of the raw dough on top at the start of baking, they would melt into the juices a bit and not crisp up as much, which is the best part of the pandowdy!
Not familiar with pandowdy, though it sounds delicious. I'm curious, though about the cutting of the crust mid-way through baking. Would you not get a very similar result if you cut the crust before baking? As baking progressed the juice would bubble up between the slices in the crust.