Fruit Dessert

Each summer, any peaches that were not eaten, jellied, or canned were frozen. We would peel and slice the peaches and pack them into sealable plastic freezer bags. Most often, they later appeared as a topping for Meme’s Pound Cake (page 266). For a child, peach season was purgatory—it was so very hot—but I am sure Meme is smiling in heaven with satisfaction when she sees me practicing now what she taught me then. This soufflé uses the meringue method to rise, and the flavor is delicate and light. Frozen peaches may be used when peaches are not in season; simply defrost them before using.

Sabayon is the French name for zabaglione, a light foamy Italian dessert. It is served warm in glasses or coupes or spooned over a dessert, fruit, or pastry as a topping. Traditionally, it is made with Marsala or port, but it may be prepared using other wines and liqueurs. Use the freshest berries in season. Try all the same berry, or mix them up for a colorful treat.

Even though peaches are considered the quintessential Southern fruit, the phrase “as American as apple pie” applies to the South, too. Apples grow in the cooler mountainous regions from Georgia to Virginia. There is no longer an issue with refrigeration, but apples were an important fruit for people in the country who lived off the land. When held in a cool cellar, apples lasted for months, providing much needed vitamins and nutrition in the winter. Many factors affect an apple’s juiciness: the age of the apple, the weather and climate where it was grown, and how it has been stored. In a pie, there’s sometimes a fine line between juicy and sopping wet. Flour is one ingredient that will help absorb some of the cooking juices. This is my sister’s favorite dessert and she always requests it on special occasions.

Although native to China, peaches have been grown in Georgia since breeders began developing new varieties during the early 1900s. And while pecans are native to Texas, today they too are grown commercially in Georgia. This is a simple cobbler that requires little attention after the ingredients have been assembled and put in to cook, and it tastes simply delicious.

These poached pears are especially luscious with their Pacific Rim accent. Locally grown, in-season, organic pears are far superior for this slow-cooked dessert than store-bought fruit shipped from far away.

This is a flavorful variation on the timeless pineapple upside-down cake. Here dried apricots are used, but the cake can be made with a variety of dried or preserved fruits with equally good results. It’s excellent topped with a dollop of whipped cream, ice cream, or creamy Greek-style yogurt.

This is a standard tart in France, and I thought the combination of pears and chocolate on flaky pastry was so tasty I had to bring it back. This would be a perfect ending to one of the “Impressing Your Date” meals. It’s easy, tastes great, looks really cool, and can all be done ahead of time.

When we were testing the recipes for this book, all of our neighbors and friends thought we needed to try this one again. Not because it needed work, they just wanted more. Blueberry Turnovers are super easy to make and absolutely delicious. They would make a perfect ending to an “Impressing Your Date” meal. Serve them warm and believe me, your date will be impressed.

When I was an exchange student in France, I was only an hour and a half from London, so of course, I had to make several trips there. On one trip while wandering around Covent Garden watching the street performers, I came across a vendor selling pasties. I had wanted to try this traditional English dish and when I saw one with apples I knew it was time. Oh man, was it good. In fact, it might be the best apple dessert I’ve ever had, and coming from me, an apple-dessert connoisseur, that’s saying a lot.

Is it a cake? Is it a Jell-O mold? We may never know. But we do know it’s a delightfully light strawberry shortcake dessert that is super easy to make and tastes good, too.

Making strudel dough from scratch is a pain, but puff pastry is a terrific substitute that makes this dessert surprisingly easy to put together. The crust gets all flaky, and with the apples and cinnamon . . . oh man, it’s good.

Caramelized bananas are such a traditional tapas dessert that we had to find an easier way to serve them to a crowd. You’ve heard of pineapple upside-down cake. Well, why not try it with bananas?

I love apple crisp, and this version is the best ever. It’s really easy to make and almost impossible to ruin. This recipe is also great with peaches, pears, blueberries, or raspberries, but if you use berries, put all of the crumble mixture on top, or it will get soggy. No matter what fruit you use, eat it warm with some vanilla ice cream, and oh man, it is the best!

Peeling peaches with a knife can be a pain, but blanching them first makes it much easier. Lowering the peaches into a pan of boiling water for two or three minutes loosens the skins enough that you can easily peel them with your fingers. This works even better on tomatoes, which are impossible to peel otherwise.

I love all banana cream pies, but this one is absolutely the best ever. Although this recipe is a little time-consuming, it is really not difficult to prepare. You spend most of your time just waiting for things to boil or cool, and the result is an awesome desert that will impress your family and friends.

When I see the first gorgeous baskets of strawberries at the markets, I know that spring has truly arrived and winter is a thing of the past. Since their season lasts throughout summer, you’ll find that this sauce goes perfectly well with any of the summer fruit and berry ice creams, sorbets, or frozen yogurts in this book.

Serve the delicate, rosy crystals of this granita with a pour of sparkling wine, making a rather sophisticated slushie. Or perfume it with a few drops of fragrant rosewater sprinkled over to transform it into something curiously exotic and a bit elusive.

I’m a firm believer in being very nice to the people who feed me, which comes from working in restaurants and seeing what can happen to people who aren’t. I have a particular soft spot for the young folks at my local fish market, who wake early each morning to unpack, bone, and clean icy cold fish all day long. Since their freezer has a much larger capacity than mine, and their capacity for eating ice cream follows suit, I got into the habit of bringing them lots of ice creams and sorbets. Each time I’d bring them another flavor, they’d drop whatever work they were doing, rip off the lid, and dig right in. They liked this Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream the most, and it earned me VIP status instantly. Since that day, I’ve gotten the quickest and most helpful service of anyone who shops at that fish store. This perplexes the other shoppers, who have no idea of the power of homemade ice cream. For best results, layer the just-churned ice cream with the raspberry swirl and avoid stirring it to preserve the colorful contrast between the frozen vanilla custard and the gorgeous swirl of raspberries.

This is the first ice cream that springs to mind when people recall hand-cranked, old-fashioned fruit ice creams from their past. More than any other homemade ice cream, this is perhaps the most beloved of all flavors and is indeed best when spooned right out of the machine, just moments after it’s been churned. An easy way to peel peaches is to cut an X at the bottom and then lower them in a pot of boiling water for about 20 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peaches to a colander and shock them with cold water, then let them cool. Afterward, you’ll find their fuzzy peels just slip right off.

As a smart shopper, I like to outwit unsuspecting produce clerks who don’t know any better and mark down passion fruits that are ugly and deeply wrinkled, which actually indicates that they’re perfectly ripe and ready to use. I buy any and all, whether I need them right away or not, since the pulp freezes beautifully. You can find good-quality frozen passion fruit pulp in Latin markets as well (or see Resources, page 237). I like to add a drop or two of pure orange oil to augment the passion fruit flavor, but if unavailable, you can substitute a few swipes of freshly grated orange zest if you wish. To extract the pulp, cut each passion fruit in half at the equator and scoop the pulp and seeds into a nonreactive strainer set over a bowl. Use a flexible rubber spatula to press and extract as much as the precious pulp as possible, until the seeds look rather dry. You can freeze the fragrant pulp or use it right away. But save a few of the seeds to add back to the ice cream just after it’s churned.