Raspberry-plum cobbler

Ingredients

Shortcake (recipe follows)
1 pint raspberries
1 1/2 pounds firm, ripe plums, cut in eighths
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons tapioca starch
Pinch of salt
Turbinado or raw sugar
Lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving

To make the shortcake dough:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
Dash nutmeg
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch-square baking dish. Toss the fruit with the sugar, tapioca starch and salt, and spoon it into the baking dish. Cover the fruit with tablespoon-size pieces of the shortcake dough, using about three-quarters of it. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake until the top is golden and cooked through and the fruit is bubbling, about 40 minutes. Allow cooling for a few minutes before serving with whipped cream or ice cream.

Tip: Use the leftover shortcake dough to make a few biscuits. Bake them right along with the cobbler until golden on top; they'll be done before the cobbler is done. You can reheat them up to 2 days later.

Serves 6 to 8.

Raspberries and plums are an amazing combination, but you can also use blueberries and blackberries with stone fruits such as nectarines or peaches in this simple dessert.