EASY FRESH FRUIT DESSERTS
It may not really be easier living in summer but the longer hours of daylight make everything seem less rushed, more relaxed, and the heat does cause us to simplify tasks, which includes making meals and that involves desserts. Funny summer is THE season for fresh fruit but when people think of fruit desserts, they envision cooked items, pies and other pastries. If you mention whole or raw fruit, they think breakfast or snack. The truth is that fresh fruit desserts can be every bit as delicious and elegant as baked ones and far healthier.
They are also easier to make. Yes, most do require a baked shell, or base but those items can be made ahead in batches and stored in air-tight containers, waiting to be filled whenever you want, either for a week nigh supper or for company. Moreover, none of the fresh fruit dessert recipes below require any dough mixing. They use ready-to-bake products needing only a short time in an oven.
If you want more fresh fruit dessert recipes, I have at least 12 posts over the years with about 5 recipes each. Simply go to the home page of this site and click Blog. Using the drop down menu in the right margin of all blog pages, flipping through June, July and August of any year, you will find at least two postings about fresh fruit desserts. Some of the most recent are Strawberries June 16, 2022, Berries April 4, 2018, Peaches Aug.16, 2018, Apricots Aug.9, 2018, Melons Aug. 22, 2020, Watermelons Aug. 30, 2018 and Puff Pastry Aug. 21, 2020. However, as I said, there are several others with more recipes as well, too many to list here.
RECIPES
Fruit Pizza: Serves 6-8
1 pkg. refrigerated chilled sugar cookie dough
1 qt. blueberries or *
1 qt. strawberries or *
¼ cup all-fruit or apricot preserves + 2 Tbs. juice or water
1 can Whipped Cream
Roll out the cookie dough to a single 12 inch round. Place on a pizza or cookie sheet and bake as directed on package. Cool—can be done a day ahead. Arrange the fruit in a decorative pattern on top of the cookie leaving a 1-2 inch margin. Melt the preserves with the water over low heat and spoon it evenly over the fruit to make a glaze that covers the entire top. Chill 30 min. and serve cut in wedges with whipped cream on the side.
*Or about 2 lbs. sliced peaches or nectarines with about 1 lb. grapes-halved.
Tortilla Pizzas: Serves 4- From Betty Crocker.com
1 flour tortillas for burritos (8 inch; from 11-oz package
½ tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
2Tbs. soft cream cheese-option-fruit flavored cheese
½ cup chopped fresh fruit, (such as strawberries, blueberries, grapes, peaches), well drained
¼ cup toasted nuts, chopped or slivered
Heat oven to 350 deg.. Place tortillas on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until crisp. Meanwhile, mix sugar and cinnamon. Place hot tortilla on cutting board; spread cream cheese on tortilla. Sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture. Arrange fruit on top. Cut into 4 wedges. Serve warm.
Puff Pastry Ramps: Serves 4
2 sheets of puff pastry – 1 box
1 1 pt. strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or a mixture or sliced peaches or nectarines
1 tub whipped topping, 1 can whipped cream or 3 cups vanilla ice cream
Powdered sugar
Syrup of choice-optional
Cut each puff pastry sheet into 4 equal squares and bake as directed. Cool. Put 2/3 cup of the ice cream or equal proportion of the cream or topping on each of 4 squares. Top with some of the berries, and cover with another square at a tilted angle. Put a small dab of the creams or topping on the upper squares and add the rest of the berries. Optionally drizzle syrup over. Garnish with sprinkled powdered sugar.
Tortilla Cups Serves 6- From / happyhooligans.ca/cinnamon-sugar-tortillas
1 fresh peach, chopped
1/2 cup each fresh blueberries and raspberries and/or sliced peaches or nectarines
2 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 flour tortillas (6 inch)
3/4 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
Heat oven to 400 deg. Toss fruit with 1 Tbs. sugar and chill until ready to use. Combine cinnamon and remaining sugar. Spray tortillas with cooking spray; sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Gently press tortillas, sugared sides up, into 6 muffin pan cups allowing to form folds. Bake 10 to 12 min. or until crisp. Remove from muffin pan to wire racks; cool completely. Fill tortilla cups with COOL WHIP and fruit mixture just before serving.
Fruit Tortilla Wraps: Serves 6-From-recipetineats.com
8 oz. Cream Cheese softened
1 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
1 cup Blueberries
1-2 cups Strawberries
1 Large Peach
2-3 Apricots OR Kiwis
6 Flour Tortillas (10” round)
Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until smooth. Spread 2-3 Tbs. of the cheese mix on each tortilla. Peel and thinly slice the peach and apricots. Cut the tops off the strawberries and slice those thin as well. Lay pieces of fruit all over the tortillas. Carefully roll up each of the tortillas as tight as you can. Slice the tortillas in half and serve right away. You can refrigerate these for a few hours before serving if you’d like.
FILLED CUPS AND SHELLS
A General Recipe: Serves 12
8 oz. lemon yogurt
1/3 cup all fruit preserves
1 ½ cups mixed berries or sliced fruit
Whipped cream or topping for garnish
Spread 1 tsp. preserves in the bottom of each shell. Mix 1 cup berries with the yogurt and divide among the shells. Top with remaining fruit and garnish with topping.
Shell Choices
1) Wonton Cups: Makes 24 –From Eat Up and Slim Down by Jane Kirby and David Joachim
24 wonton wrappers
2Tbs. melted butter
Line a wrapper in each cup of a 12 cup or (2) 6 cup muffin pans. Brush with butter. Lay a 2nd wrapper diagonally on the first and brush with butter. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven for 10 min. Cool, then remove from pan.
2) Puff pastry shells or phyllo cups; These are sold frozen in most supermarkets. As a tip, sprinkle the puff pastry shell liberally with sugar before baking as a decorative touch. Fill with fresh or prepared fruit topped with cream or use the recipe above. Only thaw these items as needed and don’t attempt to refreeze any uncooked ones. Store airtight.
3) Tortillas: Spread each of 4 flour tortillas with cream cheese and then place about 2 soup spoons of the drained prepared fruit down the center. Reserve juice. Roll tortilla and place seam side down on a baking sheet. Bake 8 min. in a preheated 425 deg. oven. Cool, chill, optionally garnish with whipped topping and drizzle with reserved juice.
4) Cake Cups: Found in most supermarkets. Fill in any of the above ways.
5) Pastry Dough: Make or buy dough for a 2 crust pie, which should be enough for 6 individual desserts.
1) Tart Shells: Cut the dough in strips slightly wider than the diameter of the muffin tin cups or custard cups which will be used for baking. Put one strip in the cup, put a dot of water in the center if the bottom and lay the other strip at right angles across it. Lightly press the edges together to seal and trim the top edges folding a bit over to make a rim. Fill partially with raw rice or beans, bake at 450 deg. for about 12 min.
2) Individual Galettes: Using a saucer as a template, cut dough in rounds. Place on a baking sheet and fold up edges in pleats to make sides. Allow for about 1 ¼ inches all around. Fill with crumpled waxed paper or parchment paper to hold the shape and bake at 450 deg. about 12 min. Cool, carefully remove paper, fill and garnish in any of the above ways.
Wrapper Fruit Cups: Makes 12
Wonton Wrappers: Serves 12
2 cups raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries or peaches sliced
2 cups yogurt- vanilla or lemon Or 1 pkg. instant pudding and pie filling – flavor optional
2 Tbs. melted butter
Cooking oil
Powdered sugar
24 wonton wraps
With a little oil on a paper towel, lightly coat the inside of each muffin cup in two 6 cup pans. Lay one wonton wrapper on a diagonal in each cup and lightly butter it. Butter the remaining 12 wrappers and lay them on top of the first in the cups on an opposite diagonal making sure the points form sides to the cups. Bake in a preheated 350 deg. oven for 10 min. Cool and remove from pan. Mix I cup berries into the yogurt or pudding and spoon into the cups. Top with remaining berries and garnish with sugar. Serve at once.
Easy Berry Angel Cream Cake # 2: A 1 lb. loaf cake will serve 6
This a quick, elegant answer to the problem of providing a nice dessert when there isn’t time to prepare one from scratch, and a tasty end to a meal anytime. Any berry will work, as would peaches and nectarines.
1 purchased pound cake
(2) 8 oz. tubs of Whipped Topping
1qt. box of strawberries or mix strawberries and blueberries or 2 lb. peaches or nectarines-sliced
Save several nice pieces for decoration. Slice the rest and sprinkle with sugar. Allow to rest
few hours for the juice to extract itself. Just before serving, cut the cake into 3 layers. Spread first with 1/3rd of the topping and ½ of the fruit. Spread the 2nd layer with 1/3 of the topping and the remainder of the fruit. Spread the rest of the topping on the cake top and decorate with the reserved fruit.
Sweet and Spicy Grapes (or Blueberries): Serves 4-6
2 lb. seedless grapes, preferably red, or 2 pt. blueberries
1 cup sour cream
1-2 Tbs. sugar-or to taste
Generous sprinkles of cinnamon
Mix the sugar and sour cream until sugar dissolves and the taste is only slightly sweet. Gently toss with the fruits until well coated, adding more sour cream if needed. Divide among individual dessert saucers and chill well. Just before serving sprinkle liberally with cinnamon.
