Flavorful Fresh-Fruit Desserts
Summer harvests produce a sweet bonanza for fruit lovers. Fresh fruit can be eaten in a bowl or blended in a smoothie, or even whipped into a scrumptious dessert with a few extra ingredients and flavors (not to mention calories!)? The Castle Rock Farmer’s Market offers fruits grown locally and packed with nature’s goodness, from melons and berries to cherries and stone fruits. Some make better desserts than others and all of them are a yummy summer treat.
Broiled, Roasted or Grilled
Fresh fruit on the barbie? You bet! From grilled pineapple slices and peach wedges to broiled apples and strawberries, Martha Stewart says the sweet produce of summer is a wonderful way to bring out the best in fruit. Firm, ripe peaches roasted with vanilla extract, butter and lemon juice produce a syrupy mouth-watering dessert topped with fresh raspberries and ice cream in just 30 minutes.
Broiled plums with mascarpone cream and brown sugar can be made with either sweet or tart plums, depending on your preference – sweetness or sourness – and roasted apples with Mexican chocolate, cinnamon and melted marshmallows are a twist on the traditional baked fruit standard.
Cobblers and Cakes
Sweet summer peaches, butter, and bourbon cook down in the bottom of a Bundt pan for a decadent Southern cake in this recipe from Southern Living. And this vintage recipe for cherry-nectarine pan dowdy was popular throughout the 1800s, and it’s similar to a cobbler. Take your fresh fruit and whip up this sweet treat for your next backyard barbeque or potluck event, and feel free to trade out whatever fresh fruit tastes good to you!
If you’ve never heard of “sonkers,” it may be that you haven’t lived in or traveled to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Surry County, North Carolina where the recipes for this kind of cobbler originate. This one from Southern Living uses all kinds of berries and tapioca and is baked in a deep pan and topped with a creamy “dip” made of vanilla extract, cornstarch, sugar and half-and-half. Yum.
Pies, Tarts and Bars
From Cape Cod blueberry pie (a Northeastern delight for a few hundred years!) to raspberry tarts and apricot bars — down-home baking at its tastiest — the ways in which you can satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit, are endless. For purists, just the fruit with a little cream can do the trick, but for those who like a little flaky crust with this food group, check out the Taste of Home parade of pies, bars and tarts!
Real Simple breaks down the variety of summer desserts into categories by specific fruits, from berries and stone fruits to melons, mangos and grapes. And if you need to create dessert for a crowd, surf over to Delish for 51 quick and easy fruit desserts like chocolate-covered watermelon, no-churn berry ice cream and campfire (or fire pit!) strawberries.
Delish in Crystal Valley
The master-planned community of Crystal Valley is five minutes from downtown Castle Rock and near all sorts of diners, eateries, cafes and restaurants with lots of dessert choices! Check out the beautiful Crystal Valley model homes — in ranch and two-story styles – from D.R. Horton, Kauffman Homes and Richmond American Homes — priced from the high $300s.
