Sonker
Mt. Airy, North Carolina, USA
A deep-dish fruit dessert unique to Surry County, North Carolina, and virtually unknown anywhere else. Unlike a cobbler or pie, sonker uses a thin, pourable batter poured over heaps of fruit (sweet potato, strawberry, or peach are the classics), then baked in an oversized dish until bubbly and golden. The real magic is the 'dip,' a warm, pourable milk sauce ladled generously over each serving. The town of Mt. Airy even has a Sonker Trail, a driving tour of the few bakeries and kitchens that still make it. Ask for sonker 50 miles away and you'll get blank stares.
Ingredients
- 1000 gFresh peaches (peeled and sliced)
- 200 gGranulated sugar
- 250 gAll-purpose flour
- 250 mlWhole milk
- 2 tspBaking powder
- 100 gButter (melted)
- 1 tspVanilla extract
- 1 tspCinnamon
- 0.25 tspNutmeg
Directions
- 1
Toss the sliced peaches with half the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Let them macerate for 20 minutes until juicy.
- 2
Whisk together flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, milk, melted butter, and vanilla into a thin, pourable batter.
- 3
Pour the fruit and all its juices into a large, deep baking dish (at least 9x13 inches).
- 4
Pour the batter evenly over the top of the fruit. Do not stir.
- 5
Bake at 175°C (350°F) for 45 to 50 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling through.
- 6
While the sonker bakes, make the 'dip': heat milk, sugar, butter, and vanilla in a small saucepan until warm and smooth.
- 7
Serve generous scoops of the hot sonker in bowls, ladled with the warm milk dip.