by Beth Keating
Recipe
DisneyBizJournal.com
May 28, 2023
Disney has been known to make a few mistakes along the way, and one of the mistakes that has been covered up by the mists of time is the naming of the restaurant in Cinderella Castle at Disney World. Many moons ago, the restaurant was named “King Stefan’s Banquet Hall,” an odd moniker because King Stefan was Sleeping Beauty’s father, not Cindy’s. So why would Aurora’s dad have a restaurant in Cinderella’s castle? Eventually, someone figured out that the name didn’t really fit, and the restaurant today is known as “Cinderella’s Royal Table.” Regardless, it is just as difficult to get dining reservations there now as it was back in the day, when it was the purview of King Stefan.
We honeymooned at Disney World eons ago, and were privileged to dine there when it was still King Stefan’s (and we have the mug to prove it!). In flipping through our ancient copy of Cooking With Mickey: Gourmet Mickey Cookbook Vol. II, we came across a recipe for the now-defunct King Stefan’s Banquet Hall, and thought it might be time to give this recipe a try. After all, a berry cobbler sounds like the perfect treat to kick-off a holiday weekend! And boy, were these good! No wonder everyone loved them back in the day… They were, indeed, a fan-favorite.
This recipe is relatively easy on the pie-making scale (I’m a pie-making novice), and its blackberries, combined with the tart Granny Smith apples, offers a less sweet pie than you would normally expect in comparison to other fruit pies, but it was no less delicious. The recipe looks like a lot of steps, but it really isn’t. You could even cheat a little and use a premade refrigerated pie dough instead of making the dough from scratch if you wanted. Give it a try, and remember the good ole days of King Stefan’s Banquet Hall along the way!
Apple-Blackberry Cobbler From King Stefan’s Banquet Hall
1 ½ pounds Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup light brown sugar
1 1/3 cups water
½ teaspoon cornstarch
½ cup blackberries (fresh or frozen)
Pie dough (recipe follows)
Egg wash (recipe follows)
Peel and core apples. Cut in quarters, then in ¼-inch slices. Add to 3-quart saucepan with butter, nutmeg, sugar, cinnamon, brown sugar and 1 cup of water. Cook until the apples are tender, but not soft. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking.
After apples have become tender, reduce heat. Mix ½ teaspoon of cornstarch with 1/3 cup of water, and slowly add to apple mixture. Continue stirring until mixture thickens (3 to 5 minutes). Remove from heat and cool.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly butter 6 individual baking dishes or soufflé cups. Fill each dish with ½ cup of apple mixture. Top each cup with one tablespoon of blackberries. Cover blackberries with pie dough and brush top of each crust with egg wash.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until top of each cobbler is lightly browned. Remove from oven and serve warm.
Ingredients-Pie Dough:
¾ teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups pastry flour
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup vegetable shortening
¼ cup water
¼ cup milk
Sift into a 3-quart mixing bowl salt, pastry flour, and sugar. Add shortening and blend with a pastry cutter. Combine water and milk and gradually add to flour mixture, just enough to form a moist dough. Knead lightly, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Roll dough ¼ inch thick and cut to fit individual baking dishes, allowing enough extra dough to hang over sides of the dish.
Ingredients-Egg Wash:
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup milk
Combine egg and milk and brush on cobbler just before baking.
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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.
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