Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan forced.

Combine the sugar, spices, vanilla pods, orange peel, juice and wine for the mulled wine in a cast-iron Signature roaster. Bring to a simmer over low heat on the stovetop, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to simmer for 5 to 6 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse, and then remove the cinnamon sticks, cloves, vanilla pods and orange peel with a slotted spoon and discard them.

Gradually stir the cornflour and water mixture into the infused wine until the liquid has thickened to a coating consistency.

Stir the apples and pears followed by the berries into the thickened wine syrup and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes while stirring. Remove the roaster from the heat and allow the fruit to cool while you make the topping.

To make the cobbler topping: mix together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, and then stir in the light-brown sugar. Add the buttermilk and mix together.

Dollop random spoonfuls of the soft cobbler mixture over the fruit, leaving a few small gaps were the fruit can be seen. Do not smooth over the mixture.

Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the cobbler mixture and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 180°C and continue to bake until the cobbler is golden brown and the syrup is bubbling through. Allow to cool a little before serving.

Cook's Notes:

The combination of apples and pears can be varied to include other fruits such as plums or apricots.

Frozen berry mixes are generally good value and available all year round; any combination will work but avoid strawberries as they become very soft when cooked.

A small ice-cream scoop works well when adding the cobbler mixture to the fruit.

If your oven bakes unevenly turn the roaster part way through baking to prevent over browning on one side. You may need to add a few minutes extra cooking time to allow for the heat loss when opening the oven.