It’s National Dessert Day!
I’m not much of a baker, but I like to offer a fruit-based dessert when I have friends over for dinner. This stone fruit gratin is my riff on a recipe from a French cooking magazine. Easy-peasy, rich fruit flavor, and you can adjust the sugar and butter content to your own taste. The gratin can be prepared ahead of time and go into the oven while you enjoy your dinner. The buttery pistachio crumble really brings out the lushness of the fruit.
Back when I lived in Germany, we had a mirabelle plum tree in our backyard, and I’d use those gorgeous little yellow plums for this dish, but it’s equally good with any stone fruit: peaches, plums, nectarines, or a combination. I know it’s getting late in the season, but frozen fruit would work well too!
Ingredients:
Fresh or frozen stone fruits. If frozen, thaw before proceeding. Cut these into chunks or slices, depending on your aesthetic. I like a rough, chunky look, like a diamond-in-the-rough romance hero. You’ll need enough fruit to cover the bottom of your chosen baking dish. For my twelve-inch ceramic tart pan, I use eight big nectarines. I suppose you could peel them, but I never do.
Unsalted butter for the baking dish
Optional spices: 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground allspice
For the crumble topping:
One cup shelled, non-salted pistachios
½ stick unsalted butter, at room temperature.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
One cup powdered sugar. (Maybe less. Start with half a cup, taste it, and see what you think. If your fruit’s very sweet, you might want less sugar in your crumble. If your fruit’s on the tart side, you might want a sweeter crumble.)
Directions:
Butter your chosen baking dish—tart dish, pie pan, cake pan, whatever. Fill the dish with a single layer of fruit chunks or slices.
I like my fruit plain if it’s fresh and flavorful. If you’re using frozen fruit, or if the fruit’s not quite as fragrant as you’d like, you can sprinkle on sweet spices such as 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, ½ tsp. ground ginger, and/or ½ tsp. allspice.
Put the pistachios, vanilla, butter, and ½ cup powdered sugar in your food processor. Whirl until crumbly. You don’t want a paste, just crumbles.
Taste. Sweet enough for you? Or do you want to add a little more sugar? If your baking dish is large, you may want a larger quantity of nut crumble.
Distribute the nut mixture over the fruit. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm, by itself, or atop ice cream or pound cake. Luscious!
What’s your favorite homemade dessert?
