Micah A. Leal
A fruit pizza is a glorified cookie cake—but one that’s a little easier to justify. Instead of highly processed frosting and sprinkles, the sugar cookie base is coated in a thin layer of a lightly sweetened cream cheese filling and piled with delicious fruits. The cookie itself is crisp on the outside but exceptionally tender on the inside (thanks to milk in the dough), and a combination of vanilla and almond extracts give the cookie a delightfully bright and familiar sugar cookie flavor.
Layering the fruit is more of an arts and crafts project than it is baking. The trick is to have all of your fruit sliced and ready before you begin layering. Then simply follow the principle of working from the center outward, and place everything so that it loosely follows the pattern of a circle. By putting fruits of different colors directly next to each other, each piece of fruit has the opportunity to stand out. Lastly, brush the fruit pizza with apricot jam loosened with some water to add a sheen to the naturally bright colors and textures. Garnish the pizza with fresh mint for a beautiful (and delicious) green compliment.
How to Make It
Step 1
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and line the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg, and beat for another 2 minutes. Add milk and extracts, and mix to fully incorporate, about 1 minute. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Transfer dough to prepared pan; evenly spread dough, pressing down to create an even bottom. Bake until lightly browned across the surface, 18 to 20 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Step 2
Beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high until lightened and satiny, about 2 minutes. Remove cooled cookie base from springform pan and transfer to a serving plate. Evenly spread Cream Cheese Filling across the surface of the cookie.
Step 3
Slice the strawberries and plums into 1/8-inch-thick pieces. Working from the center of the circle to the outside of the circle, layer fruit in a circular pattern, placing fruits of different colors directly next to each other. Fill in empty spaces with extra blueberries.
Step 4
Mix together apricot jam with 1 tablespoon of water until loosened. Gently brush fruit with jam mixture to add shine. Garnish pizza with fresh mint.
