Monday, August 9, 2021

8 Perfect Summer Fruit Desserts.

These weeks ahead are akin in excitement level to holiday baking for me . . . all of the fruit peaking in ripe, sweet beauty each week inspires the most glorious desserts (the kind that also make for a delicious breakfast, right?). There are few things more satisfying to eat, and simple to bake, than fruit cobblers. My Apricot Nectarine Cobbler starts with the fruit baked for a bit in the oven, then topped with a yogurt-based biscuit that is light and tender and wonderful. A beauty to behold. Blueberry Cobbler gets a different treatment with more of a shortbread-style crust on top that I absolutely live for. The story with this one is special to me as well. Of course, if you're my mom, you're going to bake pie after pie. My sister replicates my mother's with remarkable similarity, a true gift. Use her oil-based, vegan pie crust which is always ultra-flakey and has a salted crust contrast to the sweet fruit. Free-form Tart Cherry Galette is so much fun to make with its easy-to-handle cream cheese crust. Bake for a crowd with Cherry Slab Pie, also using Mom's oil-based crust but in a big sheet pan. Another major winner is this Apricot Upside Down Cake. Go classic Lebanese with Fresh Fruit with Ashta, a cream lightly scented with flower water and dolloped atop a pretty selection of seasonal fruit. We've got some later season raspberries to make a simple Raspberry Crumb Cake that snacks like no other, or dip them in chocolate. Bring on the joy!