Ingredients

• 900g/2lb damsons
• washed and stalks removed
• 100g/4oz caster sugar
• 225g/8oz self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 75g/3oz chilled butter
• diced
• 100g/4oz caster sugar
• plus 1 tablespoon
• a pinch of salt
• 1 medium egg
• 100ml/4fl oz buttermilk
• 15g/1/2oz flaked almonds

Directions

• Spread the damsons over the base of a 2 litre/3½ pint shallow ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the caster sugar. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
• Sift the flour
• baking powder
• the 100g/4oz of caster sugar and a pinch of salt into a bowl or a food processor
• add the butter and work together until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
• Break the egg into the buttermilk and beat together well. Add to the dry ingredients and mix together lightly into a soft
• sticky dough. Drop walnut-sized spoonfuls of the mixture over the top of the damsons
• leaving a little space between each one
• then sprinkle with the flaked almonds and the remaining 1 tbsp of sugar.
• Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden and bubbling
• covering it loosely with a sheet of foil if it is browning a little too quickly. It is done when a skewer
• pushed into the middle of the cobbler topping
• comes away clean. Leave to cool briefly before serving with some custard
• double cream or crème fraîche.