Best Fruit Desserts
It’s that time of year when in-season fruit is beginning to pour into farmer’s markets – and who can resist taking some home? And while fruit makes a good snack any time of day, it also makes some of the most delicious desserts around. Here are some ideas for turning your favorite fruit into a dessert to die for.
Almond Galette with Red Fruits is an amazing, gourmet dish combining almonds and whatever red fruits are in season in your area. Try raspberries, strawberries, cherries, red grapes, and pomegranates.
Fried Seasonal Fruits with Rosemary Honey is another way to use a variety of fruits in season, as is Fresh fruits gratin with Sambucca sabayon.
Okay, so for most of the North America, bananas are always available and never local, but who can resist a good banana dessert? My family’s favorite is Banana Pudding – made from scratch it’s truly scrumptious.
As soon as peaches are available in your region, you’ll want to try Baked Peaches. This is an old fashioned dessert – and one that’s a classic for a reason. Or try Glazed Peach Pie.
Cherries with vanilla ice-cream is simple and sure to please. Or try Cherry fricassee with gingerbread, pistachios and ice-cream. The combination of gingerbread, cherries, mint leaves, and ice cream is really amazing. Another great choice is Sauteed cherries with raspberry juice.
It doesn’t get much more simple than Fig Pie: fresh figs, puff pastry, a little bit of powdered sugar, and some cardamom and cinnamon. Delicious! You might also try Roasted white figs with almond ice-cream.
Another easy, yummy way to turn any fruit into a dessert is to make a crisp. Here’s the basic recipe:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9 x 9 inch baking dish and set it aside. In a medium bowl, toss about 6 cups of the fruit with 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup all purpose flour (or 1/8 cup whole wheat and 1/8 cup all purpose flour), and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Dump this mixture into the baking dish and set aside. In a clean medium bowl, stir together 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, ¾ cup uncooked oatmeal, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut 1 stick of cold butter into small pieces and add them to the flour mixture. Mix with your hands until the butter is well incorporated. Spread this oatmeal topping over the filling and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the fruit filling is bubbling and the oatmeal topping is golden.
