Eric King's Fruit Pizza

It's an easygayoven newsletter takeover!

This is not the gay food blogger you’re looking for!

For this week’s post, we’re doing a Substack Freaky Friday where Eric King from easygayoven is taking over The Dinner Club. Don’t worry, we’ve already locked him out of the account. Meanwhile, Harrison is bringing his easy-breezy-beautiful entertaining style to Eric’s Substack with a recipe for Hanger Steak with Shishito Chimichurri.

---

Growing up in the midwest, one dish that was ubiquitous at summer barbecues and church potlucks was the fruit pizza. No, please don’t conjure up images of blueberry pie filling baked under a molten layer of cheese (unless…..). This is simply a chewy sugar cookie crust plus a sweet and cream cheese topping plus intricate (or not) designs of fresh fruit.

But its simplicity betrays it, since it really has all the flavor and textural elements of a well-balanced dessert (see the previous sentence.) Think of it as the humble, hometown cousin of the glossy fruit tart. I most likely haven’t had a slice since I left Ohio years ago, and it brought me back! It’s the kind of recipe that, since you subscribe to Harrison, I bet you all will love: approachable but delightful, unfussy but impressive!

Since it’s already so dead easy, try to resist the urge to squeeze out that log of Pillsbury sugar cookie dough from the tube. I’ve given a modified version of my holiday sugar cookie cutout recipe here, which is chewy, buttery and holds its shape in the oven. It can be made in the stand mixer with room temperature butter, or in the food processor with chilled butter, which means less waiting for the butter to come up to temp and less waiting for the dough to chill.

Recipe:

Serves 8-10 (Can easily be doubled to serve 16-20)

Ingredients

Sugar Cookie

• 1 cups plus all-purpose flour (130 grams)

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

• 1/4 cup plus two tablespoons granulated sugar (80 grams)

• 6 tablespoons salted butter (85 grams)

• 1 large egg yolk

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons milk or cream (whole, skim or plant-based)

Cream Cheese topping

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1/4 cup plus two tablespoons powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fruit

• 1 ripe mango, sliced thinly

• 1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

• 1 half-pint fresh raspberries

• 1 cup fresh blueberries

• 2 fresh kiwis, halved and sliced

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and cream of tartar. Set aside.

2. If using a food processor: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, add the butter cubes and sugar. Turn the food processor to low speed until they are totally combined. You may have to spread the mixture around with a rubber spatula if gathering up and missing the blades. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract and pulse a few times until homogenous, running the rubber spatula along the sides and bottom to ensure everything is incorporated. Pour in the flour mixture and pulse until the dough comes together and begins to ball up. (If the mixture is still chalky, beat in 2 tablespoons of milk.) Skip to Step 4.

3. If using a stand mixer or hand mixer: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a large mixing bowl and a hand mixer, beat the softened butter and sugar until combined. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through, until everything is homogenous. Pour in the flour mixture and mix on low just until the dough begins to come together, the mixture is crumbly, and the last streaks of flour disappear. (If the mixture is still chalky, beat in 2 tablespoons of milk.) Form the dough into a rectangle, as flat as you can, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill for about 30 minutes before rolling out.

4. Dump the dough out onto a large piece of parchment paper that’s been lightly dusted with flour. Place another piece of parchment on top and roll the dough out with a rolling pin to a 9x12-inch rectangle that is ¼ to ⅙ inch in thickness. (If doubling, aim for a 11x16-inch rectangle.) Place on a half sheet tray and chill in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until the dough is firm and cold.

5. While the cookie is chilling, preheat the oven to 350°F.

6. Bake on the middle rack for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are turning golden brown and the center is matte and dry-looking.

7. Allow the cookie to cool on the tray.

8. Make the cream cheese frosting. In a medium mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla just until combined. Do not over-beat as the cream cheese can curdle.

9. Spread the cream cheese frosting over the cooled cookie base and top with alternating stripes of your prepared fruit. (You can see above photos for how we did it — but feel free to get creative!)