Fruits go a long way in changing the flavor of your desserts. Don’t bore yourself with plain ol’ vanilla essence. And there’s so many ways you can use them too!
 
Here is a list of 11 ways to add fruits to your desserts. Go forth and increase your intake of vitamins and natural sugars!
 

Toppings

 
As you expected to see, the most basic of fruit additions is on top of your desserts.
 
You can scatter toppings across the surface or arrange them decoratively. Either way, fruits give your desserts more colour as well as adding to your vitamin intake.
 
There are so many different kinds of fruits that you can use as well, such as:
1. Candied fruits
2. Preserved fruits
3. Fresh fruits
 
No matter what fruit it is, each different kind will change the flavour and texture of your dessert. So be sure to pick something goes together with whatever you’re making
 

Curds

 
Don’t let the words confuse you, we’re not talking about milk or cheese curds here. Fruit curds may not be a familiar concept to many people. They are more like a concentrated and less sweet version of jam.

 
There are a few different ways you can make them such as adding butter to produce a creamier and smoother texture, but overall its purpose is simply to go together with other baked goods. This is because the flavour of fruit curds are a bit too strong on its own.
 
While it is usually used as a dessert spread, you can add them into your icings or cheesecakes as a swirl. This helps to decorate as well as flavour your baked goods.
 

Preserved Spreads

 
Preserved spreads are often confused with jams. However there is a major difference. The fruit is chunky or even whole (like raspberries), whereas in jams, the fruit is in smaller pieces or even pureed.
 
Just like curds, preserved spreads are great for covering your cakes and such.
 

Chunky Filler

 
It’s not uncommon to find this method of adding fruits into desserts especially in chocolate banana cakes or Japanese strawberry cakes.
 
It’s a simple but often unused technique that not many home-bakers use. Which is a shame because the addition of the fruits’ weird shapes into the cake is refreshing to the eyes to break up the straight lines of the cake.
 

Infusers

 
If you’re a health nut or know someone that is a health nut, you’ve definitely drank lemon infused water.
 

As fruit infusers are usually dried out, they are more for drinks than food but you can still have some fun experimenting with them in cocktails and floats. However, you can also try making candied infusers and eat them with sundaes. As the cream melts, you will get something that tastes different by the end of it!
 

Spiced and Cooked

 
We would be doing you a disservice to neglect mentioning spiced and cooked fruits. This method of using fruits in desserts is most common in pies.
 
However, because there are so many different recipes to make spiced and cooked fruits, you should experiment by adding it to other kinds of desserts. If you want to just mess around with spiced fruit however, a crumble is a quick and simple dessert for spiced and cooked fruits.
 

Stewed or Baked Stuffed Fruit

 
If you love baked potatoes, you will love making stewed or baked fruit casings!
 
Fruits such as pears, apples or peaches are the perfect kind of fruit for this because they have a strong structural integrity. The natural sugars in the fruit will melt and help cook whatever fillings you use.
 
Usually the fillings for stuffed fruits are dried fruits, nuts or just topped off with ice cream.
 

Sorbet

 
Sorbet is the au naturel ice cream, using pretty much just the fruit itself. Some fruits that have less water content require you to add water or maybe some honey or caster sugar.

 
It’s so simple to make that all you really require is a blender or food processor and a freezer.
 
So if you want a quick and refreshing dessert, just pick up some fresh fruits and make a delicious sorbet!
 

Chocolate Dips

 
Another simple way to enjoy your fruits is to make a chocolate dip.
 
After all, who doesn’t love chocolate?
 
The classic strawberry dipped in chocolate is a great example for this entry. Melt some cooking chocolate in a double boiler setup and dip your fruits in. Then you can wait for it to cool and harden at room temperature before serving.
 

Pastry Layers

 
Similar to the previous entry on stuffed fruits, you need to use fruits with a relatively strong structural integrity like apples, peaches and pears to make these.
 
Like a roll cake, the idea is to roll slices of the fruit with a sheet of pastry before baking. You are free to add whatever herbs and spices you want to the pastry to enhance the flavour.
 
You can also try a recipe with less pastry such as cinnamon apple roses. Apple slices that are either covered or sprinkled with cinnamon and artfully arranged to look like a rose flower. Both beautiful and delicious.
 

Glaze

 
A glaze is a simple white icing with a syrup-like consistency that you can use for your cakes or sweet pastries.
 
Because the base recipe is so simple, you could add fruit flavourings like the previously mentioned infusers or curds to add a new dynamic to your glazes. If you use citrus fruits, you can have a sweet and tangy glaze to add to your desserts!
 

 
As you can see, there are so many fun and different ways to add fruits into your desserts. Some are so easy to make that even beginner bakers should have no trouble trying to recreate and experiment with these recipes.
 
However, if you’re looking for more advanced recipes, come on and take a look at some of our current available baking classes. Our recipes change every 2-3 months, so if nothing catches your eye now, we might have something better for you next time!
 
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