Fast Fruit Plate

The fruit does the work here, no cooking required. Sliced bananas, strawberries, kiwi, orange sections, pineapple chunks, and canned peaches go straight into a bowl, then get crowned with a sweetened cream cheese and whipped cream topping that pulls everything together.

That topping is the trick. Beating the cream cheese until truly creamy first, before adding the heavy cream, prevents lumps. Once the cream goes in, the mixture lightens into something between thick whipped cream and a soft mousse, sweet enough to play against the tartness of the fresh fruit but not so heavy it weighs the plate down.

Use whatever fresh fruit looks good. The combination listed gives you red, orange, yellow, green, and gold in one bowl, which is half the appeal of a fruit plate. Add the bananas last so they don’t brown, and toss them with a squeeze of juice from the orange sections to slow oxidation further.

Five minutes in the fridge lets the topping firm up just enough to spoon cleanly without sliding off.

Kitchen Tips

• Cream cheese must be fully softened. Cold cream cheese leaves white lumps in the topping that won’t beat out.
• Start with two tablespoons of powdered sugar and add more once you’ve folded in the cream. The fruit’s natural sweetness covers a lot of ground.
• Drain the canned pineapple and peaches well, or the syrup thins the topping and pools at the bottom of the bowl.
• For a brunch presentation, layer the fruit and cream in a glass trifle bowl instead of mixing.

Variations

• Swap the cream cheese topping for Greek yogurt sweetened with honey for a lighter version.
• Add a handful of toasted coconut or chopped pecans for crunch.
• Stir a splash of orange liqueur or a teaspoon of grated lemon zest into the topping for adult brightness.