Hand-Me-Down Upside Down Dessert in a Breeze
A classic way to present in-season fruit is baked “au gratin.” Stale bread is tossed with a bit of melted butter and sugar and then spread over the fruit. It’s a lazy upside down crust.
It’s quite quick to fix- shred bread with toasted nuts and few extra pantry items and you have the crust. Spice the fruit with any or all the cookie spices—that’s all!
My favorites are mangoes, peaches, pears, and cherries
Serves 4-6
INGREDIENTS: Most any fruit will work. Instead of sugar, consider jams
- FRUIT – 1-1/2 LBS, diced
- GRATIN:
- bread – day old, 3 oz [3-4], torn
- sugar – 1/4 cup
- butter – 2 TBS, melted
- pecans or walnuts – 1/3 cup, toasted [300º for 5 minutes], chopped
- TOPPING: Greek yogurt
ABOVE: My dwarf mango offered me up this fruit
INSTRUCTIONS: NOTE: I have seen this recipe also baked with the gratin stirred into the fruit before baking
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- In a food processor combine the gratin ingredients until crumbly
- Prepare the fruit and place in a baking dish
- Top with the gratin ingredients and bake for 30 minutes until top is nicely browned
- Serve warm, room temperature or cold with a topping of choice
ALTERNATE RECIPE: Fruit & Rum au Gratin
Follow the base recipe and use toss fruit with 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg, and 2 TBS dark rum — Recipe by B. Hettig
— Recipe base provided by Jacques Pépin, Sweet Simplicity
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