Fruit Pizza
A fruit pizza may be one of the most beautiful, tasty (almost healthy), and impressive desserts that you can make! With just a cookie crust, a delicious spread of homemade frosting, and whatever fruits you and your family crave – this stunning dessert is guaranteed to be the centerpiece of your dessert table, no matter what season or gathering it may be for!
Now – if you mention the term “fruit pizza” to someone who has never heard of it – they (or you) might be thinking of a slightly salty/yeasty crust with a garlicly sauce, some delicious cheese and then some berries and other fruits where the pepperoni and fresh toppings should go. This is NOT that kind of pizza. The crust is your favorite Sugar Cookie. Then you have a white ‘sauce’ of a cream-cheese based frosting (spiked with either cinnamon OR lemon). To top the whole thing off, you layer on some of the freshest and most delicious fruits that you can think of. You see…. we have all of the normal layers required to be called a pizza, but we are getting a dessert out of it!
Your Fruit Pizza can be decorated for ANY Holiday, July 4th is a favorite time for Fruit Pizza with all of the summer fresh produce that are overcrowding our store shelves that time of year and just begging to be enjoyed in any way possible!
I know that often dessert tables are overcrowded and you aren’t really sure if you need to bring yet another dessert – but let me assure you that when this is made it is the first thing to go! Seriously, at Easter last year when I made this their table was LOADED with desserts and I started second-guessing the fact that I brought this. When I went to get dessert about 10 minutes after the table had “opened” I was lucky that I got a piece at all! Everything else had a few bits missing from them, and this Dessert Fruit Pizza Egg was reduced to almost crumbs (which I quickly snatched up before I didn’t get any at all)!
You can switch this up for every and any holiday. A Circular Fruit Pizza is welcome any time of year, or you could certainly play with shapes (Tree for Christmas, Star for July 4th or New Years, Heart for Valentines Day) – your options are endless. The bright colors also work all year but playing with fruit colors makes this dessert seasonal so easily! I really cannot think of any occasion that a fruit pizza is not welcome. So easy to create (yes, it takes a bit of time – but easy none the less) and stunning without being so ridiculously heavy that you can’t still make room for the other desserts if you so wanted to! 😉
Fruit Pizza – I think I’m in Love!
- COOKIE… SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH from the refrigerated section is SUPER easy and delicious OR –
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 6 oz butter, at room temperature
- 11/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tbsp cream
- 2 tsp lemon extract
- FROSTING:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon OR 1 Tbsp Lemon Zest
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- FRUITS:
- 8 cups assorted fresh fruit (grapes, strawberries, orange, mango, clementines, blueberries, banana, raspberries, etc.) washed and sliced
- 1/4 cup apricot jelly or any other [light-colored] jelly
- 1 Tbsp Orange Juice/Lemon Juice/Water
- COOKIES:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside for a moment.
- Combine the butter, sugar, and lemon zest in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat them together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each, then add the cream and lemon extract and mix them in.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing until there are just a few flour streaks left. Stop the mixer and finish stirring everything together by hand, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl well. Shape the dough into a large disc and wrap the dough in cling wrap. Refrigerate for several hours, until firm. Dough can be made several days in advance.
- When the dough is firm, preheat the oven to 350 F and cover a large baking sheet with parchment OR use your favorite large egg-shaped casserole dish(OR round OR shape of your choice). If you are using a casserole dish (my preferred method) just carefully push out with your fingers your dough to reach the edges of your greased and/or parchment paper lined vessel – make sure its relatively even all around. If using the cookie sheet: roll out the dough between sheets of parchment or waxed paper until it is a large circle about 1/2-inch thick. (an egg might be about 16×12 inches, but if you are just making a circle, it should be in the 14-inch area.) You could make it ever thinner if you’d like, but I think a cake-like-cookie is perfect for this. Transfer the cookie to the baking sheet, and bake it at 350 F for 15-19 minutes, until it takes on a light golden color and is puffed and set in the middle. Let it cool completely at room temperature. The cookie can be baked several days in advance.
- FROSTING:
- Beat the cream cheese using a mixer until it is smooth and free of lumps. Add the cinnamon or lemon and about half of the powdered sugar. Beat until everything is well-mixed. Taste the frosting, and add more sugar if desired. Remember that it will be combined with a cookie and fruit, so it doesn’t have to be super-sweet on its own. Frosting can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- ASSEMBLE:
- Spread the frosting in a thin, even layer over the surface of the cookie, leaving a small margin around the edges. Layer the fresh fruit over the frosting in the pattern of your choosing—don’t’ be afraid to play with colors and shapes and patterns!
- Once your artwork is completed – in a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the jelly and liquid, and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir them together until the jelly is fluid and smooth. It should have the consistency of a thin gel—if it’s still fairly thick, add a bit more liquid to thin it out. Use a pastry brush to glaze the top of your fruit. This gives it a lovely shine, and also prevents the cut fruit from looking wilted and tired at room temperature.
Inspired by the Sugar Hero
If you enjoy this… you may also enjoy these Easter-Inspired Dessert Recipes to fill your table:
Two Years Ago – Roasted Eggplant Mushroom Garlic Pasta – filling enough for those still-chilly nights but light and fresh enough to carry you through all the summer months!
And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… Do you prefer your fruit in its original form or enhanced in the form of a dessert of some kind?