Make this mixed cherry-berry grunt in a 10" cast iron skillet. If you have a 10" Dutch oven, that will work too. My skillet wasn't quite deep enough, so I had to invert a large pot over it so the dumplings would steam without sticking to a regular lid.
Enough mixed berries and cherries to fill a 10" pan by about 1 1/2"(fresh or frozen, or a combination)
½cupgranulated sugaror to taste
½cuporange juice
1Tablespoonapple cider vinegar(I used Bragg's)
1teaspoonvanilla
heavy pinch of salt
For the Topping
8.5ozall purpose flour
2ozgranulated sugar
2teaspoonsbaking powder
½teaspoonbaking soda
heavy pinch of kosher salt
heavy pinch of cinnamon
4oz1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes
10ozbuttermilk
1teaspoonvanilla
Instructions
Put all the fruit in you pan.
Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the fruit.
Pour in the orange juice, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and salt.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
While the fruit is heating, make the topping.
For the Topping
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
Cut or rub the butter in thoroughly until there are no pieces larger than peas.
Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the buttermilk and vanilla.
Stir lightly with a dough whisk. (I don't have one, so I used a regular dinner knife. It worked well. Mixed everything without developing too much gluten).
Finishing
Once the fruit is at a boil, stir a couple of times and reduce the heat to a simmer.
Drop the batter by large spoonfuls all over the fruit, leaving just a bit of space in between.
Cover with a lid (or if your pan is shallow and there is no room for the topping to rise, do what I did and invert a large pot on top of the skillet to act as a very tall lid).
Make sure the fruit is still bubbling, and simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Check frequently after about 20 minutes. You want the batter to be firm with lots of little holes in it. It should not be wet on the outside. Look for an internal temperature of 200F.
Cool to warm and serve with ice cream, whipped cream or simply pour some heavy cream on each serving.