Gourmet Fruit Desserts to Upgrade Boring Ole Fruits into a Decadent Treat

Fruits pack a lot of essential nutrients not to mention having hydrating properties, but once in a while when the same old strawberries and watermelons fill you with dread and bore you, you might want to spice things up a bit. In fact, we have two fruit desserts, one sweet and glutinous and the other sweet and refreshing, perfect for entertaining guests for a summer party or a lazy beat-the-heat meetup with your friends, on a particularly hot weekend.

Strawberry Shortcake (Makes 6 pieces)

Ingredients

For the shortcakes

• 280 gm all-purpose flour
• 30 gm granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 115 gm butter, cold
• 240 ml buttermilk

For the strawberries

• 75 gm raw cane sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 450 gm fresh strawberries

For the whipped cream

• 240 gm heavy cream
• 15 gm granulated sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Instructions

1. Take a big bowl, and add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.
2. Cube the cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour bowl. Toss to coat the butter cubes in flour. Then use your fingertips to mix until you have a crumbly mixture.
3. Pour the buttermilk, and whisk to mix until a dough starts to come together. Then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Then make the citrus sugar. Take raw cane sugar and the lemon zest in a small bowl. Mix using fingers to squeeze the zest to extract maximum flavor.
5. Wash, dry, and slice the strawberries. Put them in a big bowl, add 50 grams of the citrus sugar, and toss to coat the fruits. Cover with a lid of foil and refrigerate the strawberries.
6. Flour your workstation and take out the shortcake dough. Transfer the dough to the floured surface. Press the dough a few times to tenderize it, if you spot any butter cubes popping out, pat flour over them.
7. Flatten the dough into a thick 1-inch circle. Take a round 3-inch cookie cutter or any cup or bowl with the same diameter, flour it, and press to get 6 thick circles for six shortcakes.
8. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use a pastry brush to apply buttermilk to their tops, then sprinkle the remaining citrus sugar over each.
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
10. While the shortcakes bake, take a bowl, and add the heavy cream, sugar, and lemon zest. Whisk using an electric mixer or use a manual one, until stiff peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
11. Once the shortcakes are baked, let them cool outside for 5-10 minutes.
12. Once warm enough to touch, halve them horizontally, and slather the bottom halves with a big scoop of whipped cream. Then pile each with some strawberries. Serve them right away.

Melon Cake (Serves 8)

Ingredients

• 1 seedless watermelon
• 1 muskmelon
• 1 honeydew
• 720 ml heavy whipping cream
• 65 gm granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 25 gm blueberries, for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Clean your work surface or use a big cutting board, to cut out two slabs of watermelon from its center. The thickness of each should be about 1.5 inches.
2. With the same thickness, cut out similar slabs, 1 each, from the muskmelon and honeydew. Get rid of the seeds and pulp in the centers of the honeydew and muskmelon. Keep the extra fruit of all the melons, for later.
3. Like stacking rings, stack the melons on top of the other, starting from the largest one and ending with the smallest.
4. Use a knife to cut down the melons with their rinds in such a way that you have four circles, of the same size, starting from the top to the bottom.
5. Take a bowl and beat the whipping cream, with a whisk until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla, then whisk again until stiff peaks form.
6. Put one watermelon slice on a serving plate. Slather its top with some whipped cream. Put the muskmelon layer next, apply whipped cream on its top. Place the honeydew disc next, then fill up the cavity left behind by the seeds and pulp, with whipped cream. Frost the top of the honeydew.
7. Place the second watermelon slab on the frosted honeydew and spread the remaining whipped cream over it, and also covering the sides.
8. Use a melon baller equipment to scoop out spheres of melons with the leftover fruit. Top with the melon balls and blueberries.
9. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice and serve on dessert plates.