Fruit Pizza

With a buttery shortbread crust, a thick cream cheese layer and colorful fresh fruit, this fruit pizza recipe is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. A fun dessert to make and so pretty to eat, get creative with all of your favorite fruits and enjoy this summer treat!

Jump to:

• The Ingredients
• The Method
• Make Ahead and Storage
• Make it Your Own
• Alternate Baking Pans
• Serving Ideas
• Dietary Notes
• And if you liked this recipe...
• Fruit Pizza with Shortbread Crust
• Comments

Today we're trading out artisan pizza dough and savory toppings in favor of some sweeter slices of 'za.

Let me introduce you to this simple fruit pizza- my all time favorite dessert!

Easy yet impressive, it is made with a 3 ingredient shortbread crust then topped with a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting and plenty of fruit.

While this light dessert has a summery vibe, it really is great for any time. I love to serve it in the winter time as a way to add some "sunshine" to the meal.

The Ingredients

• Shortbread Crust
  • Butter- Salted or unsalted butter can be used.
  • Whole Wheat Flour- All purpose flour also works or see the make it your own section for details on making it gluten free.
  • White Sugar- Brown sugar can be used instead.
• Frosting
  • Cream Cheese- Be sure to use blocks of cream cheese and not cream cheese spread.
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Vanilla Extract
• Toppings (2-3 cups total)
  • Sliced Fresh Fruit (best)- Use your favorite fresh seasonal fruit and berries for decorating. I don't recommend using apples, bananas or any other type of fruit that browns quickly unless you are serving it immediately.
  • Canned Fruit- Oranges and pineapple are fine to use- just be sure to drain them first.
  • Frozen Fruit- Can be thawed and used but the juices may bleed a bit into the frosting.

The Method

1. Make the shortbread cookie crust. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Mix in the flour. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch tart pan or springform pan (see the section about alternate baking pans for more options). Bake at 350 for 11-15 minutes until lightly golden brown. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

2. Make the frosting. With a hand mixer, beat together the softened cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth.

3. Prepare your fruit. Wash your fresh fruit, drain any canned fruit and thaw frozen fruit that you are using. Cut into desired sizes. TIP: I like to assemble the fruit first on a plate to get an idea of my design and then transfer it to the pizza.

4. Decorate pizza. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the cooled crust and top with fruit. Get creative!

• For reference, I used:
  • Tart One:
    • ½ cup sliced (¼ inch thick) strawberries
    • 2 sliced (¼ inch thick) kiwi
    • ½ cup sliced (in half) red grapes
    • ½ cup canned mandarin oranges, drained
  • Tart Two
    • 1 cup sliced (¼ inch thick) strawberries
    • ½ cup canned mandarin oranges
    • ½ cup sliced (in half) red grapes

5. Cover and chill.

6. Slice and serve. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut into desired sizes of pizza slices and serve.

Make Ahead and Storage

To Make Ahead: The base can be made up to 2 days ahead. Cover and store at room temperature. The entire dessert can be assembled up to 1 day ahead. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

To Store: Cover with plastic wrap or place in an airtight container and store leftover fruit pizza in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The base will soften the longer that it sits but will still be delicious!

To Freeze: The shortbread base and frosting can both be frozen but I don't recommend freezing the assembled dessert as the fruit will become mushy with thawing.

Make it Your Own

• Add a Glaze- Give the fruit a nice shine and finished look to the dessert with just two extra ingredients:
  • Peach Jam (2 tablespoons)- Another favorite flavor will work (strawberry, apricot, etc.) but darker jams and jams with a lot of seeds will be visible.
  • Water (½ tablespoon)
  • Whisk the jam and water together in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to lightly coat the fruit tart.
• Chocolate Strawberry Pizza- Spread a thick layer of Chocolate Hummus on top in place of the cream cheese frosting. Top with sliced fresh strawberries.
• Make It Gluten Free- You have two options-
  • 1:1 Gluten Free Flour- I have made it this way and it turns out well.
  • Oat Flour- Applying what I learned from making Oat Flour Cookies, I have had success with increasing the oat flour to 90 g (¾ cup lightly packed) to replace the whole wheat flour.

Alternate Baking Pans

If you don't have a spring form or tart pan, you can use:

• a 9 inch round cake pan or pie dish- Line it with parchment for easy removal for cutting once chilled.
• a baking sheet- Roll the crust dough out free form on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• a 12 inch pizza pan- Double the recipe (2x on the recipe card) for the perfect amount to fit the pan.

Note: If you use a glass pan instead of metal, the baking time will likely increase by a couple of minutes.

Serving Ideas

Give your fruit pizza some extra flair by serving with some garnishes such as:

• Chocolate syrup or ganache
• Orange zest
• Whipped cream

Dietary Notes

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If you have dietary restrictions, check the packaging of specific ingredients that you use to ensure they are compliant. This recipe is:

• Gluten Free- If you use 1:1 gluten free flour or certified gluten free oat flour.
• Vegetarian

And if you liked this recipe...

...you might also like:

• Butter Tart Bars
• Lava Cakes
• Coconut Flour Brownies
• Apple Crisp

More Desserts!