Fruit Pizza

For the last cooking class before summer break, Elsa chose to remake her favorite recipe from the year: Fruit Pizza. It’s easy-peasy to put together, and strawberries picked fresh from Booty Family Farm (delivered by Farmer Steve himself, no less) made her choice a clear winner! (To Elsa, Steve is Dada.)

Elsa started at Aunt Jane’s Cooking School when she was a four-year-old sprout. Now almost six, she knows her way around the kitchen with confidence. She grabs her stool, goes right to the sink to wash her hands (without prompting, mind you), then stands still while I lower her apron over her head and strap it on, like an astronaut donning a space suit. She then surveys the ingredients that I’ve mustered, eager to get the lay of land. Next, let’s cook!

The ingredients for Fruit Pizza are quite simple. If you don’t happen to have currant jelly on hand, apple jelly would be an excellent substitute as would peach or apricot jam, warmed up and strained to get out the chunks. You can use any combination of fruit and/or berries that you have on hand. Our pizza ended up being a Berry Pizza as the sweet-looking peach in the photo turned out to be rock hard. Here’s the recipe…

Fruit Pizza

1/2 cup butter (one stick), room temperature

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

1/4 teaspoon baking spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, whatever you like)

2/3 cup orange juice

1/2 cup currant jelly

3-4 cups sliced fruit and/or berries (this time we used strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed (hand held or a stand mixer) for about a minute. Reduce mixer speed and gradually add flour and powdered sugar. (If you keep the mixer on medium-high, you’ll end up wearing the flour and sugar!)

Pat the dough evenly into a 12-inch pizza pan (we used a big glass plate) and bake for 10-12 minutes (or a bit more) until golden; cool on a wire rack. (Ask Elsa what the most useful tool in the kitchen is and she’ll say, “Your hands!” A+.)

For the pizza sauce, stir together the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and baking spice in a small saucepan. Stir in the orange juice and jelly, then cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Transfer to a bowl to cool slightly. (This is a good time to take a reading break and nibble on some cinnamon-sugar toast. Just a suggestion.)

To assemble the pizza, spread half of the warm jelly sauce onto the cooled crust. Start by arranging the bigger fruit slices or berries around the outside then work in. Fill holes with berries or cut grapes. There really aren’t any rules ~ have fun with it!

Drizzle the remaining glaze over the fruit and chill uncovered until needed. (If keeping for several hours or overnight, let the pizza cool completely then cover it lightly with plastic wrap.

To serve, well, think pizza! Slice and enjoy. (You’ll probably want to use forks, though. It’s hard to pick up a slice 🙂

Cooking School will be back in session in September with a six year old student. We’ve already done soufflés, so I’ll have to come up with some even more challenging techniques and recipes. Baked Alaska, perhaps? Crème Brûlée? (Elsa with a blow torch????) One thing’s for sure, it’s going to be fun. There’s never a dull moment with Elsa in the Little House kitchen!