The first time I had Fruit Pizza I thought I had died and gone to Heaven...and I just couldn't get enough of the stuff. I made it at least once a week for my family and there were never any leftovers. With it's cookie-like crust, lemony cream cheese "sauce", and fresh fruit topping, what's not to love? But here's where this Fruit Pizza rises above the rest...it has a glaze on top that keeps the fruit fresh, and from turning brown, and makes it shiny and irresistible!
I'm back home after my week long trip to Salt Lake City to see the fam - and Max. Oh Max! I love him so! I left 85 degrees and blue skies to return to 55 degrees and rain...and this is the perfect weather for Fruit Pizza...if I can't have summer outdoors, I'll make it and eat it indoors! Summer in your mouth, that's what this is! I've had this recipe in my collection since 1984...when I was just a wee lass...over the years I've adapted it, trying out different "sauces" until I hit upon this version, which has become one of my very favorite desserts. The stores are full of fresh fruit, it's time to make it again and again...I suggest you do the same!
Use your favorite fruits, pile them up or place them on top in a pretty design...this is good enough to serve to guests, or to take to the company picnic...or to eat while you're snuggled in a quilt in front of the TV watching the news about high temps in the East, record temps in the South and warm ocean waves lapping the beaches in the West...it's summer everywhere, it seems, but it doesn't arrive here until July 5th!
Fruit Pizza - Pots and Pins
Fresh Fruit: I like to use strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, bananas, grapes, oranges, and if I'm desperate I'll use some canned fruit, like Mandarin oranges...but that's only in extreme circumstances! As you can see, you don't need a lot of fruit, so I'm not going to give you quantities to buy - just get whatever is fresh and in season.
Crust:
3/4 cup cold butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons lemon curd (purchased)
Glaze:
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, mix crust ingredients until crumb-like. (If you don't have a food processor you can mix this in a large bowl, cutting in the butter until it's about the size of small peas.) Pat firmly onto a pizza pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, vanilla, sugar and lemon curd. Whisk together until smooth. Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled crust.
Place fruit that has been washed, dried and sliced, on top of cream cheese mixture, covering the top of the "pizza."
In a small saucepan combine the glaze ingredients and cook until clear and thick. Cool to room temperature then spread/spoon on top of fruit. Serves 8 normal people...or 4 pigs.
One more thing...this is a very adaptable recipe. In the pictures above, I did not use lemon curd, as I was out of it and didn't feel like making any. It didn't have that extra little zest the curd gives the filling, but it was dang good nonetheless. Also...the glaze on this Fruit Pizza was not made with apple juice but with Apricot Jam instead! See what I mean? Adaptable! I used 1/2 cup of Apricot Jam and melted it in a small saucepan on the stove. When it was melted and syrupy I poured it through a sieve to remove any large pieces of fruit, allowed it to cool to room temperature, stirred in one teaspoon of lemon juice then spooned it over the fruit. It was, in a word, fantasmagorical! If you are going to glaze your pizza with jam, use one that is light in color, it just makes for a prettier presentation, i.e., orange marmalade, apple jelly, apricot jam.
