Fresh Fruit Pizza

This is no shredded-mozzarella affair. Fresh fruit pizza borrows from rustic Italian sweet flatbreads, layering sliced apples and pears over rolled-out pizza dough, then pouring a sweet egg custard over the top before raisins and pine nuts go on.

The hot oven sets the custard around the fruit, the dough crisps underneath, and the pine nuts toast to golden in the last few minutes. The dough stays bready, more like a focaccia base than a pastry crust, which is the point. Plump the raisins in water first so they soften and stay juicy through the bake instead of scorching dry on the surface.

Serve warm out of the oven for breakfast, brunch, or a casual end to a long Italian dinner.

Pro Tips

• Soak raisins for the full 30 minutes; dry raisins burn before the crust browns
• Slice apples and pears thin and even so they cook through at the same rate
• A baking stone preheated in the oven gives the bottom of the dough a real crackle
• Watch the pine nuts in the last few minutes, they go from golden to scorched fast
• Serve right out of the oven; the custard firms up too much once cold

Variations

• Swap pears for fresh figs in late summer for a deeper, jammier topping
• Replace pine nuts with sliced almonds or chopped walnuts if pine nuts are pricey
• Brush the warm pizza with apricot jam thinned with water for a glossy finish