In my endless quest to find more and more new ways to use the fresh fruits we buy every summer, I decided it’s time to try my hand at a simple dessert pizza.
In part, this was inspired by a local pizza chain making their own fruit pizzas. Theirs are still very much pizzas, though, with a pizza dough, fruit as a sauce, and other toppings. Nothing wrong with that — in fact, it’s delicious and I kind of want to go get one now that I’m thinking about it — but it wasn’t quite what I was after.
Today’s dessert pizza is sort of like a hybrid between a pizza and a cake. It’s a yeast dough, but it’s fluffy and soft more like a cake or muffin when it’s baked. The form factor is broad and flat like a pizza, but there’s no intermediate layer of cream cheese like a lot of dessert pizzas use. The berry compote partially soaks in, sort of like a spoon cake, but it’s more intentionally spread across the top.
Overall, I really enjoyed it as a dessert, and it’s easier to make than you might think. It’s just slightly time-consuming and requires the right tools, particularly the pizza pan, if you want it to have the right texture.
My recipe here can be broken down into three components. The crust, the compote, and the toppings. You’re free to add more toppings if you want, but I wanted to keep mine relatively simple for the first run. You know what they say: make it exist first, you can make it better later.
The Crust
Like I said above, the crust is a yeast dough, though it’s not chewy and bready like a pizza dough is. It’s like a chewier kind of muffin or a softer kind of bread. You’ll have to proof some yeast, but don’t worry, since there’s sugar in the dough, it goes super easy.
To bake the pizza, you’ll want a pizza pan with a bit of a rim to it. It’s not going to spread out a bunch but the liquid from the topping can drip so keeping it more contained is easier. I like something like these (amazon link) but to be honest I’m just using one that we found in the house when we moved in.
The Compote
The fruit compote is really the star of the show. For this recipe I just used blueberries, since they’re the fruit I’m trying to use up, but it would also go great with a mixed berry, strawberry, or other fruit compote you want to make. You can use my recipe for a simple berry compote with any berries you like and it’ll work great.
The Toppings
For my pizza, I have two toppings here.
The first is a crumble topping. In this case it’s very simple, just flour, butter, and sugar. Cinnamon is a great addition for certain fruits, but I didn’t want to go too heavy on the darker flavors for a blueberry pizza.
The second is a very simple glaze. Milk and powdered sugar are all you need to have a nice icing on top of everything. I use this glaze a ton and it’s never a bad idea.
You can also put other kinds of toppings on top if you want. Make a thicker icing, slice up some fresh berries, use some whipped cream or something, the world is your oyster.
Want to know how to put it all together? Here you go:
Fruity Dessert Pizza
Equipment
- 12" Pizza Pan
- Parchment Paper
- Sauce Pans
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 Cup Water About 110℉.
- 3 Tbsp White Sugar
- 1 Tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 4⅔ Tbsp Vegetable Oil Divided; 2 Tbsp and 2 Tbsp + 2 Tsp.
- 2½ Cups Flour
For the Compote
- 3½ Cups Fresh Berries
- ¼ Cup White Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Corn Starch
- 2 Tbsp Cold Water
- 1 Tsp Lemon Zest
For the Crumble
- 1 Cup Flour
- ⅓ Cup White Sugar
- 6 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- 1 Stick Butter Melted.
For the Glaze
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Milk
Instructions
Get the Crust Started
- In a medium bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir this and let it sit until the yeast blooms, about five minutes. Then, add in the 2 tbsp and 2 tsp oil, and the flour, and stir to make a soft, sticky dough.
- Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl, cover it, and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour.
Make the Compote
- While the dough is rising, start the other components. In a small bowl, whisk together the cold water and corn starch, then set it aside.
- In your sauce pan, over medium heat, heat 2 cups of berries, white sugar, and brown sugar. Stir often to dissolve the sugars.
- Add the corn starch water to the pan and stir until it thickens, about 2-3 minutes. Then add in the lemon zest and mix well.
- Add in the remaining blueberries and set aside to cool.
Make the Crumble
- Mix the ingredients all together and work it into a coarse and crumbly consistency, sort of like pebbly sand.
Finish the Crust and Assemble
- When the dough has doubled in size, get your oven preheating to 450℉. Line your pizza pan with a circle of parchment paper to help prevent sticking. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of oil to this to grease it all thoroughly. Leave excess oil in the pan.
- Turn out the dough into the pan directly. Using your fingers, press it out to the edges of the pan, and make dimples all throughout the surface. This is a lot like making a focaccia.
- Bake the crust for about 10 minutes, with no toppings, to start to solidify it.
- Remove the crust from the oven and spread the compote over the top. Return to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Once more remove the crust, add the crumble topping, and return to bake for five more minutes.
- Mix up the glaze by combining the sugar and milk until it's an icing consistency. Drizzle this over the pizza when it's warm but not hot, and enjoy.