Dessert Pizza

First…Let me wish all the Americans in the crowd… Happy Thanksgiving!!

Well, this is not a Thanksgiving Blog…it is a quick blog on a recent creation that I tried this evening and thought I would share… for a dessert pizza.

A few nights ago I made my kids a homemade pizza.  Well, homemade in the sense that I purchased some pre-made pizza dough in a bag and the topping to make the pizza at home.

Anyway, I had some leftover dough that was sitting in my fridge and I was trying to decide what to make with it.  Another savory pizza was not on the agenda so I tried to figure something else to do.  It was at that point that I thought…why not a dessert pizza?  I fired up the computer and started to look for recipes and found a number  but they mostly used cookie dough as a crust or required the pre-baking of the pizza dough and then covering a cooked crust with fresh fruit … not what I had in mind.  Seeing nothing that answered the bill, I decided to venture it alone and try to create my own.

Ingredient List:

1 Bag Pizza Dough

1 tbsp Cornmeal

4 tbsp Orange Marmalade

Fruit Mixture:

(I used frozen fruit, but I would think fresh could also be used)

1 Bag Frozen 4-Berry Blend (600 g or 21 oz) – mixture of strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries)

2 bananas, peeled, sliced

1/3 c Brown Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

1.5 tsp Vanilla

(combine all the above in a bowl and set aside)

Crumble Topping:

1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c firmly packed brown or golden sugar

1/2 c soften unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1/4 c rolled oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

(combine all above in a bowl and mix with your fingers until crumbly)

I took the dough from the fridge about 45 mins earlier to warm to room temperature.  Line a pizza pan with parchment paper and generously dusted the sheet pan with cornmeal. Dip your hands, including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift the dough. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss or if you have trouble tossing the dough, or if the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes so the gluten can relax, and try again. You can also resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn’t as effective as the toss method.  When the dough is stretched out to your satisfaction lay it on pan, making sure there is enough cornmeal to allow it to slide.

Lightly top the crust with the orange marmalade and then with your fruit mixture, remembering that the fruit will release juices so give yourself a good thick crust.   Once the fruit mixture is laid on the crust, top it with the crumble topping.  Once put together, slip the pizza into a preheated 375 degree oven for 30-40 mins.  Watch it carefully at the 20 min mark and put a drip pan below the pizza in case the juice overflows.  Once the crust is golden brown, remove and let stand for 20 mins to let the juices set.  Decorate with icing sugar, slice and serve with whip cream (optional).