Decadent Pizza With Fresh Summer Fruit

This decadent pizza is made with fresh summer fruit piled on top of a prebaked pizza crust using non-dairy yogurt, sugar and cinnamon as a “pizza sauce.” It’s really delicious and simple to make, and will surely impress your guests at dessert time. Perhaps you could serve it at a summer luncheon as a main dish. If you are feeling ambitious, you can make this with a homemade pizza crust. However, I have been using and loving Sami’s Bakery Millet & Flax Pizza Crust which I ordered online from their bakery in Florida.

These Brown Rice Pizza Crusts from Nature’s Hilights would also be an excellent alternative for smaller size pizzas. You can find them in the frozen foods section of many supermarkets, including Whole Foods and Fairway.

To start, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Place your pizza crust on a pizza stone or, if you are making smaller size pizzas, on a baking sheet. Spread the crust generously with your favorite non-dairy yogurt. Vanilla or strawberry flavors would work very well. My favorite non-dairy yogurt is Whole Soy & Co. Since my local Whole Foods didn’t stock it today, I used So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla Coconut Milk Yogurt.

On top of the yogurt, I sprinkled sugar and cinnamon, to taste. To give you an idea, I used between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup of sugar. Of course, you could use more or less to suit your tastes. Then, I sprinkled some cinnamon on top of the sugar right out of the bottle using my discretion. Florida Crystals was the sugar I used.

I placed my favorite fresh summer fruits on a plate. I sliced and arranged them on top of the pizza as I went along.

You can see from the above photo that I used berries, apricots, peaches, figs, and cherries. This recipe calls for chopped fresh basil and lemon zest too, but I forgot to use them. Oops!

I arranged the fruit on top of the pizza crust which was prepared with the yogurt, sugar and cinnamon, and then I sprinkled everything again with another 1/4 cup of sugar (again, you could use more or less to suit your taste) and some cinnamon. Don’t forget to add some chopped fresh basil and about 1 tablespoon lemon zest too!

Then, I topped everything with some Daiya Cheddar Shreds and homemade “faux parmesan” cheese (In my Vitamix, I blended 1 cup raw cashews, 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast, and 1 teaspoon course ground sea salt).

I popped the pizza into the preheated oven and baked it for about 8 or 9 minutes. You can bake your pizza anywhere from 7 to 10 minutes depending upon how much you want to melt or brown your cheese. Just make sure the pizza is baked long enough to make it warm throughout. Remove from oven and let it stand 5 minutes before eating. It is very delicious and very decadent!

*Note: Although this pizza was delicious, the next time I make it I plan to omit the Daiya shreds, the faux parmesan, and the chopped basil. I will use the lemon zest with the yogurt, sugar, cinnamon and fruit, and sprinkle everything with powdered sugar when the pizza comes out of the oven. I think I would like it better that way, although I have not yet tried it.

DECADENT PIZZA WITH FRESH SUMMER FRUIT

Adapted from Your Organic Kitchen by Jesse Ziff Cool

Ingredients:

Prebaked  pizza crust, any size (if small, you could make more than one)

Vanilla or strawberry non-dairy yogurt, enough to generously top your pizzas

1 cup of sugar, use amount desired

Ground cinnamon, for sprinkling as desired

Sliced fresh summer fruit of your choice (I used apricots, figs, peaches, cherries, blueberries, raspberries)

Chopped fresh basil

Lemon zest

Non-dairy cheddar “cheese” shreds

Faux non-dairy parmesan (store bought or make your own)

*Faux Parmesan: In a high speed blender, blend 1 cup of cashews, 6 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, and 1 teaspoon of ground sea salt.

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Place crust on pizza stone or baking sheet, or use smaller crusts for more than one pizza (place on baking sheet).

Spread the crust (or crusts) generously with vanilla or strawberry non-dairy yogurt. Sprinkle the yogurt-covered crust with sugar and cinnamon, as desired (I used between 1/2 cup and 1 cup of sugar altogether; I sprinkled cinnamon out of a shaker using my discretion).

Arrange the sliced fresh fruits on top of the yogurt with the sugar and cinnamon.

Sprinkle with chopped basil and lemon zest.

Sprinkle on some more sugar and cinnamon, as desired.

Top with non-dairy cheddar shreds and faux vegan parmesan.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes until cheese is sufficiently melted, and the pizza is warmed throughout.

Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Option #2:

Make the pizza the same way, but do not use the cheddar shreds, the faux parmesan or the chopped fresh basil. Do use the lemon zest. Sprinkle with powdered sugar after the pizza comes out of the oven.

As previously stated, I think I would prefer option #2 without the faux cheeses. I think the powdered sugar would make this a more decadent dessert. It’s your call!

Click here for more great recipes using fresh summer figs.

Debby

xoxoxo